


HTTYD-Star Wars ARC 3: Dusk upon a Galaxy

by vala411



Series: HTTYD-Star Wars: The Crystal Saga [3]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-02-14 14:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13010067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vala411/pseuds/vala411
Summary: Part 3 of the Crystal Saga. Sequel to HTTYD Arc 2: Ominous Twilight. A new threat is on the horizon. Will the Guardians be able to handle it or will dusk fall upon the galaxy like it did millennia before?





	1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone. Okay first of all.... I'm writing the last part of the trilogy... FINALLY. I know some of you have asked me when this part will start. Well I still needed to gather some data to merge both the Star wars legend universe and Cannon universe with HTTYD. The new Star Wars movie is tomorrow I believe. YEAY. Also... even though this is the last part of the trilogy it is by no means the end. There is still a spin off book coming and it will make sense why once we are further into this story. I have quite a bit planned for this story line and I hope you will all like it. So far I've tried to be as inclusive as I can be. This story is as much for a Star Wars fan as a non-Star Wars fan.**

**ARC 3: Dusk upon a Galaxy**

Nearly 5 ABY

A few months had passed since the events at the Celestial space station. The Galactic civil war has come to an end and many were still celebrating the achievements of the Rebel force at the Battle of Endor.

Now out of oppression from the tyranny of Emperor Palpatine the planets have begun rebuilding. A new governing body has been selected, The New Galactic Republic. Still not all is yet calm in the galaxy. Rumors that Imperial remnants remained and were poised to fight against the new Republic emerged.

It was in this post war time that our story takes place. At a time when peace was finally on the horizon there lurks an ancient threat far greater and more sinister in the darkness of space than the Galactic Empire ever was.

Will the Guardians be triumphant or will darkness surge forward once more?

\-------------------------------

Somewhere in the fastness of space roamed an egg shaped ship carrying two familiar faces. One was scowling while walking back and forth while the other was steering the ship to their ultimate destination.

“Are we there yet?” Dagur asked as he stopped his pacing.

Camicazi let out a growl of annoyance before turning her head towards her traveling companion to give him a nasty look. “No we are not! We still have two hyperspace jumps to make because the hyperspace lane to the planet has vanished. Either you sit down and shut up or I’ll shock you so bad that the slap from the bargirl at our last supply stop would seem like a tap!!!”

“Jeez no need to get snippy.” Dagur mumbled and then quickly ducked as Camicazi sent out a stream of Force lightning his way.

“Go annoy our new friend if you must!” Camicazi warned as her hand still gave off some sparks.

“Alright alright.” Dagur mumbled as he turned around and left the large cockpit. Camicazi heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to focus on their course. Things had become quite interesting when they met their new ally. Very interesting indeed.

Dagur roamed the all too familiar halls of the former Celestial ship. He’d spent many years on this vessel after leaving the ice planet with the others. Soon it had been just Drago, Camicazi and him. Those that left either went to other planets to start a new life or succumbed to the dark side and went mad. Now it was just Camicazi and him. Dagur walked into the lounge where he had left the armband that he had gotten from Hiccup. The crack in it was more prominent now and he poked it slightly to wake the spirit inside.

“Wakey wakey.” He said in a sing song voice. “Andeddu you there?”

“Ugh…….. I am trying to get my beauty sleep.” Came the grumbling voice from the bracelet.

“You were asleep for millenia. If you aren’t beautiful now I doubt you’ll be later.” Dagur reasoned.

“That woman sent you here because you were annoying weren’t you?” Andeddu asked sarcastically.

“I was just being my charming self!” Dagur told him as Andeddu’s spirit now materialized out of the armband. A lanky figure with sunken eyes and wearing regal robes floated there. The spirit crossed its arms and glared down at Dagur. “My previous statement stands.”

Dagur huffed before asking “So why are we going to Prakith again?”

“Have you not been paying attention?” Andeddu muttered.

“Well yes…. But you’re a Sith right? So why not Korriban?” Dagur asked. “It’s been a few centuries since I’ve been there.” He thought out loud. “So tell me again….”

Andeddu let out a huff of annoyance. “I was the first to be given the title of Darth.” The spirit boasted. “But as I grew in power and stature my subordinates started coveting the knowledge and power that I had amassed more and more. I refused to share my secrets and the other Sith Lords plotted to take it away from me!” He growled.

“They plotted a rebellion during my rule on Korriban and once they were successful I escaped, leaving behind a false tomb on the planet. My real secrets are hidden on my home world Prakith.”

“Well we should be arriving soon.” Dagur told him.

“Good” Andeddu muttered. “But before we arrive I will need a new body to deal with the security around the keep.”

A sinister smirk crossed Dagur’s features. “I know the perfect candidate.” Dagur picked up the armband and Andeddu looked at him in fascination which morphed into understanding. “You hold a grudge.” The spirit stated as he floated along the corridor leading further into the ship.

“You could say that.” Dagur mumbled as they made their way towards the brig. They stopped in front of a high security cell and Dagur used a code to open the doors. Andeddu hadn’t been in this part of the ship before nor had he cared about what prisoners the two kept. He however did gasp upon seeing the figure who wore a tattered robe and was chained to a wall.

“You have a Guardian?” Andeddu asked as he recognized, or at least he thought he did, Hiccup, his former warden. Andeddu floated closer to the figure. It was then that he noticed two different colored eyes glaring at him.

“This isn’t Hiccup.” the spirit stated as he turned to Dagur.

“That is C473.” Dagur explained. “Hiccup’s clone and formally known as Darth Draconis.” Dagur walked into the cell and gave the chained up man a kick. “He honestly doesn’t deserve the title of Darth anymore. Not after he betrayed us. Heck he doesn’t deserve a name anymore.”

Their prisoner merely let out a small grunt at the kick and shot a steely glare at Dagur. Even from his chained up position the glare felt intimidating.

Dagur bent down and lifted up the man’s chin before he held up a lightsaber hilt. “Remember this?” Dagur taunted while gesturing to the hilt. “Your sabers are mine now.” He laughed “You really shouldn’t have broken mine.”

The clone looked at Dagur through auburn bangs that had grown too long. They nearly covered his eyes and before Dagur could do anything else the clone bit his hand.

“AAAH” Dagur yelled as he cradled his hand. A red mark was already forming on it. “WHY YOU PIECE OF TRASH!” Dagur shouted and was about to slap his prisoner when Andeddu’s voice stopped him.

“Stop what you are doing Dagur.” Andeddu commanded as he floated forward. Dagur still had his hand raised as he looked at the spirit in confusion. “If you want me to take possession of his body then I will need it in good condition. You slapping him around doesn’t help matters.”

Dagur seemed to think for a moment before he took a step back. “He’s all yours.” Dagur stated as Andeddu now floated even closer.

“Leave me. I wish to be alone for the process.” Andeddu commanded as he stared into a mismatched set of deviant eyes.

“Right” Dagur took that as a dismissal and left the cell. As he was walking away he heard Andeddu say in a sinister voice “Let’s see how much fight you truly have left boy.”

Dagur made his way back to the bridge and before he could open his mouth Camicazi said “Yes we are at Prakith.” Dagur stopped and stared at the large view screen Camicazi was using.

“So why don’t we land?”

“Sensors show a large number of ships barricading the planet.” Camicazi answered. “We’d be in trouble if they were a New Republic fleet..”

Dagur scoffed as he stalked forward. “What would the Republic want with Prakith? It’s barely a world of significance even if it’s in the Deep Core. The volcanic activity alone would ward them off. Move a little closer. I want to see what this so called fleet will do.”

Camicazi nodded and steered the ship in the direction of the fleet. Within no time they were within sensor range and a transmission came through. “This is the Constitutional Protectorate of Prakith militia. Identify yourselfs or be destroyed.”

“Well they are certainly blunt.” Dagur mumbled before he opened a channel. “This is Darth Dasty and Darth Ellare requesting permission to land.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few minutes as Dagur and Camicazi waited. He did frown when he heard the distinct question of “Who the hell is named Darth Dasty?” over the comm before it was quickly muted. Camicazi snorted as Dagur made a face.

“It was cool at the time I chose it!” He tried to reason.

“Sure sure.” Camicazi stated as they waited. She knew that there must be some imperial records of them existing. They were after all instrumental in the construction of the Sith hierarchy and the construction of the Empire, although they prefered to stay in the shadows. They didn’t have to wait long as the comm beeped again. This time the person on the other end was stuttering and mumbling apologies as he gave them clearance to land. The fleet parted as Camicazi steered the ship towards the planet’s surface. The large cities of Prakith were build upon large plateaus surrounded on all sides by huge crevacesses and caverns. They were directed to one of the larger landing sites and the ship came down without any problem.

“I see we are finally here.” A voice said from behind them as the door opened. Both turned to see Hiccup’s clone standing there without much emotion showing on his face. The tattered robes that the prisoner had worn had been swapped out for much finer black ones.

“What’s he doing out?!” Camicazi growled as she stood poised to strike with her hand on her saber. It was Dagur who stepped between them and then asked “Andeddu?” Camicazi stilled upon hearing that and looked curiously.

“Indeed.” Andeddu confirmed as he flexed his fingers experimentally. “The process took longer than I realized it would.” Andeddu commented while looking a little bit impressed. “He was quite……….. Resilient.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Andeddu was going to do this?” Camicazi whispered to Dagur who simply shrugged. Their comm beeped again and Camicazi pressed a button to answer it. “Yes?” She asked. She guessed that she must have sounded annoyed or something because the person on the other end gulped before saying “Excuse me, but His Glory would like to welcome you to Prakith.”

“And who is this His Glory?” Camicazi asked as she raised an eyebrow at the title. Both Dagur and Andeddu were listening to the conversation in interest. The person on the other end was silent for a few seconds before answering “His Glory, the potent and courageous Governor-for-life, Foga Brill.”

“Very well.” Camicazi stated through the comm. “We will be outside in a few minutes.” She gave Dagur a look that said that he better not piss off anymore rulers. Dagur held up his hands in defense of the irate Sith woman glaring at him. Who knew insulting a Mandalorian clan head would have gotten them chased off the planet a few centuries ago.

“Can we just go see this supposed leader of Prakith?” Andeddu asked before turning around and walking out of the bridge, not waiting for an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Andeddu adjusted his new robes to hide the marks that the shackles and the suppression collar had made to his host’s body. He was still getting used to walking in an actual body let alone feeling. It had been centuries since he had a spring in his step again. Dagur and Camicazi had stopped bickering, but Andeddu could still see her shooting warning glances at Dagur.

The trio stopped before the ship’s exit and Dagur got Andeddu’s attention by handing him one of the lightsabers on his belt.

“The gesture is appreciated but I fight better without it.” The old Sith lord told him. The lightsabers were just being created millenia ago when he had already honed his fighting form.

Dagur nodded and placed the lightsaber back on his belt. The door opened and sunlight started streaming inside. Once the ship’s doors were completely open they could see a large contingent of soldiers standing at attention to welcome them.  
The soldiers, standing ramrod straight, saluted as they walked past, and near the end of the welcoming committee stood a thin and gaunt man with graying hair.

“Welcome honored guests. Welcome to Prakith. I am Foga Brill” The man stated. “It is an honor to have Sith lords come visit our humble planet. May I ask what brings you here?”

Camicazi stepped forward. “Greetings. I am Darth Ellare. These are my associates Darth Dasty and Darth Andeddu. We are here to check up on one of our strongholds.” She told them. There was no need to explain anything else. As Sith lords their authority was absolute.

“Prakith welcomes such distinguished guests.” Foga Brill stated as he walked further with him. “Our resources are at your disposal.”

“Thank you.” Camicazi stated as the trio surveyed the relatively quite city. Few people walked the streets where there was heavy military presence.

“What will you do now that the war has ended?” Dagur asked as he looked around. Most civilians shrank back from the military officers and even more so from their governor.

They heard the man snort. “Their new government is a sham.” He explained. “The Imperials in this system have voted to continue the war against the New Republic. The planet has been isolated and we have a strong fleet and many fortresses on this world. This was after all the headquarters of the Inquisitorius.” He boasted.

“And the civilians?” Andeddu now asked as he took a good look at some of the people surrounding them. The city was indeed large and there was a huge military presence but the people looked impoverished and scared of their own government.

“They will fall in line.” Foga Brill stated in an assured voice.

“We wish to look around the city before heading to our destination.” Andeddu suddenly said as the group halted. “It has been awhile since I’ve seen my home planet.”

“Oh of course of course.” The governor stated as he was trying to stay on their good side. “Please make yourselves at home. You can simply ignore the curfew for the civilians. I will let my men know and a cloud car will be waiting next to your ship so that you can head to your destination. Now I do hope you will excuse me. There are some matters I must attend to.”

The trio gave Foga a nod of understanding before they were left alone. Several people who had seen them talking to the governor were watching them with suspicion or fear. Once they were alone Dagur asked “So….. why aren’t we going to you storehouse of knowledge yet?”

“It’s not a storehouse.” Andeddu mumbled. “Well not perse.”

“Right…. It’s a store-keep!” Dagur emphasized. Andeddu shot him a sideways glare before he continued onwards. He did however hear Camicazi muttering “These smartass remarks got us chased after on Alderaan all those years ago.”

“This place looks interesting.” Andeddu muttered before he stepped inside. Dagur and Camicazi rushed to follow. She nearly gagged at the smell of smoke that invaded her nose upon entering. Dagur sniffed before turning up his nose and looking at the clientele of this particular establishment. They were of the unsavory kind. Meanwhile Andeddu had made his way towards the bar. The body he now inhabited was dwarfed by the burly muscled men that sat at the bar counter.

Andeddu leaned on the counter. “What will you be having stranger?” The bartender asked not looking up.

“Information.” Andeddu said in an even voice. “What do you know of Malevolence?”

The chatter at the bar and the surrounding tables quieted down upon Andeddu’s question. The bartender looked up for the first time to regard Andeddu with some form of hostility. “I think you better leave stranger.” He suggested.

“And I think you better answer my question.” Andeddu countered. One of the burly men stood up from a nearby stool and walked towards Andeddu in an intimidating manner. Two mismatched eyes peered up as the man towered over him. “Didn’t ya hear what he said. Get lost.”

Camicazi and Dagur looked around the bar. Many of the patrons were regarding them with glares and sneers. The outright hostility was stifling. Andeddu however wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He ignored the large man towering over him and asked the bartender again “What do you know of the Malevolence cult?”

The burly man who had been ignored grabbed Andeddu by the front of his robes and yanked him away from the bar, slamming him into one of the walls. A snarl adorned the man’s face and he growled at Andeddu “Get lost!” But before he could say anything else a blast intense of Force lightning shot out of Andeddu’s palm and hit the man. The burly man fell backwards on the bar floor, unmoving. Some scooted back believing that the large man might be dead.

“Now I will ask again and I better receive an answer.” Andeddu’s voice turned menacing. “You will tell me what I want to know or face the consequences.”

The clientele looked in fear at Andeddu and both Dagur and Camicazi’s eyes showed a glimmer of respect for the man.

The trio soon left the bar with the information they needed and made their way back to their ship. True to the governor's word, a transport was waiting for them so that they could depart to their destination.

“I will take the back of the cloud car.” Andeddu told them. “I’m new to this body and used too much Force lightning at once.”

“Well the Keep is supposed to be several hours away.” Camicazi stated. “Will you be in optimal condition by then?”

“I should be.” Andeddu told them as they boarded the cloud car. “We will be facing much opposition if the information is accurate.”

Camicazi directed Dagur to the passenger seat as she took her seat behind the wheel. There was no way that she was going to let Dagur drive again. She still shuddered at the last experience. Andeddu took the back seat and laid down. He grumbled mentally about using too much power. This new body could use many of the same techniques that he could in his original form but he still had to get used to how much energy he expended now. Andeddu slipped into a deep sleep as the cloud car ascended, but by no means what his sleep peaceful.

_Darkness greeted him, a faint hum could be heard from somewhere. Andeddu steadily opened his eyes and tried to desperately grab his face as he felt cool liquid surrounding him. He had such an odd feeling as he found that he was connected to some type of breathing apparatus. It was like he was there, but yet he wasn’t. He felt more like a passenger watching the events unfold._

_Soon a set of doors seemed to open and light filled his vision. He took notice of the tank he was in, which was placed in some sort of laboratory. A tall slender humanoid grey alien, that Andeddu recognized as a Kaminoan, had entered the room and was studying the tank he was in with a clinical look._

_“Ah good you’re awake.” The alien said before pressing a button causing the liquid to start draining. Once the tank was drained the alien picked up the slumped body of the clone with ease and inspected him._

_“You are C473.” The Kaminoan stated. “I am Gana Se your creator.”_

_Andeddu’s eyes widened as he realized where he had ended up and why he had no control. ‘This shouldn’t be possible.’ He thought as he became privy to the dreams, no…. memories, of his host. The scene turned dark and shifted to another time._

_“One more time!” A voice commanded. Andeddu opened his eyes and saw him holding two red lightsabers. For some reason his body felt fatigued._

_“Didn’t you hear me C473. Again!” Andeddu, or rather his host had looked up and he saw Gana Se standing on the sidelines looking displeased. He suddenly felt pain course through his body. It felt like someone had just stabbed him simultaneously with a thousand hot needles. In the Kaminoan’s thin hand he spotted a small black oval shaped remote. A hand reached up and touched his neck. Andeddu could feel some sort of collar around his neck now._

_“You will not be leaving here until you get it all right.” Gana Se’s strict voice pierced his thoughts. “Do the combat forms again.”_

_The dream or memory as Andeddu liked to think shifted once again. This time he felt the same pain as he had before only this time it seemed more concentrated. His body hit the floor hard and he blearily opened his eyes only to see this so called creator looming over him, the remote was firmly clutched in the thin grey hand._   
_The Kaminoan picked up the clone by the scruff of his robes and brought him close. “Never defy me again.” The alien hissed and then he held up the remote in his line of sight. “As long as I’m alive you will never get your hands on this. I’ve spent too many resources to make you. I own you.” Was at last hissed before he was painfully dropped back onto the floor._

_The scene changed again but this memory was different from the others. Here the clone wasn’t alone with Gana Se._

_“I’m sure you both remember Gana Se.” He heard a large dreadlock wearing man say as he stood beside the Kaminoan with his hood up. “Where you successful?”_

_“Yes of course.” Gana Se stated as he gestured with his long limbs to the cloaked figure. “This is the result of decades of genetic engineering.”_

_“Who is that?” Andeddu recognized Camicazi’s voice and noticed her looking in his direction with suspicion._

_“This is C473” Gana Se introduced. “He is the fruit of my labor and with this my debt to you is paid Drago.” Andeddu silently wondered what Drago must have done for the alien to require such a repayment._

_“A clone?” He recognized Dagur. “Your secret weapon is a clone?” The tone of disbelief was very clear to hear._

_“C473, no Darth Draconis, why don’t you show these two why you are special.” Drago laughed as my host lowered his hood and gazed blankly at the three occupants. Camicazi and Dagur were staring at him in shock._

_Camicazi sputtered while Dagur quickly recovered and after a cough said “Well this certainly is a surprise.” before laughing. He felt arms reaching towards his belt and saw that the two lightsabers had been grasped firmly. Andeddu frowned slightly. ‘How is he going to demonstrate…’ Andeddu’s train of thought was cut off when the lightsabers literally cut Gana Se into pieces. Looking down Andeddu saw the still pleased look adorning the Kaminoan’s grey features. Not even shock or fear had time to form when his life had ended._

_Andeddu hear Dagur whistle in appreciation and even he had to admire the skill it took to assassinate someone so unsuspectedly._

_Andeddu felt himself falling backwards into darkness. He had no idea where the dreams would take him now. He however never expected to come face to face with his host._

_“How is this possible?” Andeddu asked. “You should not have this much will.” He was sure that he had broken the man when he had possessed his body._

_The clone looked him dead in the eyes. Two mismatched eyes were staring him down and Andeddu suddenly felt like something cold was crawling up his spine. “You know…. Killing my creator was probably the happiest day in my short life.” The clone commented. “I’d been waiting for the perfect moment to strike and he had finally let his guard down.”_

_“But your programming.” Andeddu reasoned. He heard some of it from Dagur who told them clones had been built to not harm their creators._

_“My programming……. You can say was incomplete.” The clone smirked. “Gana Se was from a low level cast in his society. His caste was used primarily for hard labor. Even if he had picked up the cloning procedure at some point he would never had access to the conditioning programs.”_

_“My question still stands. How are you even here?” Andeddu asked once more._

_The clone walked dangerously close to Andeddu and said in an even voice “This is my body is it not.” he then leaned in closer and hissed “I’ve freed myself from one master. Do you think I will stand for another.”_

_“You dare threaten me!” Andeddu exclaimed. “Do you know who I am?”_

_“All I know right now is that you need to wake up.” The clone stated before darkness engulfed them both._

Andeddu’s eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, a hand pressed over his heart.

“Are you alright?” Camicazi asked and Andeddu noticed that the cloud car had landed. Before them stood a large structure. The place did indeed look like a fortress but the millenia had not been kind to it. Areas of the Keep had fallen into disrepair. The fortress was situated in the side of a cliff and the large gates were adorned with grandiose carvings.

“Of….. of course I’m alright!” Andeddu snapped. He didn’t want to talk about the dream he had. Instead he sat up and vacated the cloud car. “Let’s go.” He told the other two. “We still have one obstacle to face.”

Camicazi gave Dagur a look once Andeddu had turned his back to them. “You don’t think.”

“It’s quicker than I suspected.” Dagur muttered as they lagged some distance behind. “We might have to speed up our plan.” He told Camicazi who nodded.

“We have come this far. I will not abandon our true objective when we are this close.” Camicazi stated. “We need to set plan B in motion. Contact your associate and have him deliver the package.”

Meanwhile in a dark cell in an undisclosed location Mala lay huddled against a wall. There was some scuffling which drew her attention and she saw Throk lurk about outside the cell.

“My Queen!” Throk said as he had finally found her.

“Throk!” Mala mumbled as she stood up and quickly went to the bars. “You shouldn’t be here. If he find you.”

“I’m here to rescue you.” Throk proclaimed but Mala stopped him.

“Forget about me.” She told him and when he tried to protest she said “There is an evil on the horizon. I’ve received a Force vision.”

“All the more reason to free you.”

“No” She protested. “For now my place is here” She told him. “But you must get this message to Hiccup.” She told him and then leaned closer to whisper.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

The inside of the Keep had an eerie air to it. The trio found themselves in a large antechamber. The ceiling above was pitch black and Dagur had to squint to see how high it stood. A thick layer of dust sat on the floor of the antechamber and they could see several paths available to them. Andeddu stood in the middle of the room and surveyed the area. His face betrayed no emotion.

“So……. where to?” Dagur asked as he tried to feel the way with the Force. He frowned when he couldn’t sense anything.

“This way.” Andeddu told them as he started walking towards one of the paths on the right side of the chamber. An eerie howling filled the chamber startling two of the three. " _Intruder! Intruder! Intruder! Intruder!_ "

The voices rang through the chamber and were amplified by the large ceiling, the echoes being far more malicious sounding than the original.

“Ignore that” Andeddu told them and with a swish of his cloak he turned back towards where he was walking.

Their journey into the Keep was met with various voices trying to intimidate them. Both Dagur and Camicazi were a little on edge as they couldn’t sense anyone in the vicinity. The whispers intensified as they walked further until Andeddu led them to a new room. This one looked more like a den of sorts. Some paper and books were scattered about with thick layers of dust and cobwebs covering them. The room also housed several pieces of furniture and Camicazi cringed when she bumped into a table causing it to collapse in on itself, the contents on the table spilling onto the floor causing a large cloud of dust to rise up.

“UCK” Camicazi coughed as she breathed in the dust. Her eyebrow twitched at all the dust.

“Cami control your obsession.” Dagur muttered as he already knows what was going to happen. That woman had a compulsion to clean.

“It is not an obsession!” Camicazi defended as she scrunched up her nose at the centuries old dust. “Can’t a Lady of the Sith desire a clean environment?”

“Of course you can.” Dagur told her. “But it turned into an obsession when you practically lost it and forced Drago into a small refresher just because he was tracking blood onto your newly cleaned floor.”

“He was getting blood on my Wrodian carpet.” Camicazi complained. “It took me a few generations of waiting to get that piece.”

“It was just a rug!” Dagur tried to reason. He still flinched as he remembered the language that was used during that conflict and he had been in an adjacent hallway at the time.

“Will both of you be quiet!” Andeddu growled. “Can’t you see that we are being watched.” That statement stopped their bickering and both Dagur and Camicazi looked around the room not sensing anything.

Andeddu let out a sigh of frustration as he outstretched his arm and used the Force to drag a black cloaked figure out of the shadows. “How?” Dagur asked as he looked at the trashing figure in surprise.

“There is more than one way to sense someone who cloaks himself with the Force.” Andeddu muttered as he levitated their watcher. There was some skittering noise and the telltale sound of lightsabers igniting. Several more individuals came out of the shadows and surrounded the group with their red lightsabers drawn. Dagur and Camicazi had their hands on their sabers but stopped from igniting them when Anddedu held up his hand.

“Intruders” Several of the shadowy individuals hissed. Their voices laced with anger and malice. “Leave….. Leave now.”

“How about no!” Dagur opened his big mouth causing their opponents to get more agitated.

“Are these the cult Malevolence?” Camicazi asked Andeddu in a whisper. Andeddu only nodded as he kept his eyes on their opponents.

“You dare tread into this place.” One hissed. “So foolish.”

“We don’t take kindly to strangers” Another said as his lightsaber illuminated part of his face. Andeddu still kept silent as he observed them. “You will never see the secrets of our master!”

“Well, I got to hand it to you.” Dagur grumbled. “You sure know how to pick followers who’ll stay loyal to you for centuries.”

“We follow no one but the Sith-god!” The one still being levitated rasped out.

“Well who do you think is standing in front of you?” Dagur provoked and then pointed towards Andeddu. “Guess who came back from the dead.”

“LIES! Blasphemy!” Several screeched as they took an offensive stance.

“You were warned.” One chuckled. “We will take great delight in cutting you up.”

“Uhm….. Anytime now…” Camicazi mumbled as she looked sideways at Andeddu, her hand never leaving her saber hilt. She still didn’t feel comfortable looking at the man. The body he inhabited and was running around in had killed Drago, their long time and slightly megalomaniac leader. She couldn’t look at him for long without wanting to seriously hurt him and probably run him through with her lightsaber.

Andeddu dropped his captive with a simple wave of his hand. The man fell to the floor with a loud thud while Andeddu turned to address the others in the room. “If you cannot sense the presence of your own master…..” He muttered in a low growl as he lifted his palm and pointed it outward. Camicazi raised a brow at the tone of voice. It was weird hearing that tone come out of someone with Hiccup’s face. Just plain weird. “Then what good are you to me.” Andeddu stated before releasing a torrent of Force lightning through the room.

The lightning coursed through the men as they yelled in agony. Andeddu only stopped when he sensed that they were close to dying. The shadowy figures slumped to the floor as their bodies shook uncontrollably from the lightning. One hesitantly raised his head and looked at Andeddu. “Who…….. Who…. are you?” He managed to get out.

“I am your lord and master.” Andeddu stated as he loomed over them.

Meanwhile on Coruscant, another world in the Deep Core, we find several familiar individuals. The world was an ecumenopolis, and in one of the districts, in a tiny loft and hanger, two familiar people resided.

“Hiccup!” Astrid called out. “Dinner is ready!”

“Coming!” Hiccup shouted from down in the hangar. He came out from the ship he’d been working on and made his way upstairs. “I can’t believe you’re not dead yet.” He heard Toothless mentally say. “Astrid’s cooking could slay a Rancor in a few seconds.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with it.” Hiccup mumbled. “My mom used to make the same tasting food.”

“By the Celestials!” Toothless exclaimed. “Your stomach must be made from Durite!”

“Toothless, Astrid’s cooking isn’t so bad.” Hiccup mumbled.

“The stench alone made the flowers wilt!” Toothless protested.

“Sure sure Toothless.” Hiccup said as he walked into the kitchen and gave his girlfriend a kiss.

“So how’s the new cruiser going?” Astrid asked.

“Well, I got the engine working now and a few other components.” Hiccup told her. “I’m waiting for Fishlegs and Heather to come back with some more components.”

Their doorbell rang and Hiccup frowned. “Stay here.” He whispered. It couldn’t be Fishlegs or Heather since they had their own key and Snotlout and Eret had returned to Mandalore.

Hiccup walked to the door, his palm resting on his lightsaber. He opened the door and gaped upon seeing who had come knocking.

“Hiccup Haddock, you are not a man that is easily found.” Throk stated. Hiccup stepped aside to let him in before closing the door again.

“Throk? What are you doing here?” Astrid asked as she had stood ready to back Hiccup up. Not many people knew that they were here, and those that did, besides their friends, wouldn’t come knocking.

“It’s a long story.” Throk told them. “I was about to free Mala but she sent me here with a message for Hiccup instead.”

“I think you’ll need to explain this in a bit more detail.” Astrid told him. “Why don’t you sit down with us. We were just about to have dinner.”

Throk nodded and went to one of the seats at the table that Astrid indicated to. “Thank you.” He stated. “I’ve been traveling for a long time trying to track you down.”

“Well, what’s the point of hiding if we could be found easily.” Astrid told him as she placed a bowl of soup in front of him.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you two end up here?” Throk mumbled as he took a sip of the soup and nearly turned green or bluish green in Hiccup’s opinion. “Eck…..” Throk managed to get out. “This soup is quite……. Original.”

“Oh, you like it!” Astrid smiled. “Well don’t be shy. You can ask for seconds.”

Throk’s face showed panic for a few seconds before he hid it. Hiccup merely sipped his soup as he watched the interaction. Toothless however was laughing his tail off and singing “I told you so!”

“Well, we succeeded in saving the galaxy.” Hiccup told Throk. “But unfortunately there appeared to have been a malfunction with the operating systems of the shuttle we were in at the time. I think some debris might have clipped it before we jumped into hyperspace.”

“We managed to make it here. Landing safely….” Hiccup explained but Astrid butted in with a smile “You mean crash-landed.” She corrected. “We decided to sell the shuttle, or what was left of it, off and keep a low profile since Coruscant was still an Imperial world at the time of our arrival. It wouldn’t look good if anyone found us with an Imperial transport.”

Throk nodded. He could guess that the people might think them to be spies or deserters, even worse now that the planet was back in Republic hands.

“So you have no transport off this world?” Throk asked.

“We have a transport.” Astrid told him. “Well, we will have one as soon as Hiccup manages to repair it.”

“That still begs the question, why are you here Throk?” Astrid asked.

“Like I said it’s a long story.” Throk sighed. “As you know we Umbarans had been spies for the Empire. What you don’t know is that some of us had allied ourselves with the Rebels. Ever since they won the Battle of Endor we’ve been busy rooting out Imperials.”

“Throk….. I don’t really understand.” Hiccup stated.

“As you know there is still Imperial opposition in the galaxy. Rumors have it that they are preparing to regroup in the Unknown Regions.” Throk explained. “We received intel from Maz Kanata, the Pirate Queen, that some Imperials were smuggling children to turn them into soldiers. Mala went to investigate this herself but the information turned out to be faulty. She got captured.”

Astrid and Hiccup’s eyes widened at that. Throk however carried on. “I managed to find her location and infiltrated the place that they had been keeping her. She however stopped me from rescuing her and sent me here with a message for you because according to her it was more important.

“And what was this message?” Hiccup asked.

“She stated that she had a Force vision.” Throk explained. “She told me to tell you ‘Beware of Aries’.” Hiccup’s brows furrowed as he thought for a moment. “Do you know what she meant?” Throk asked.

Hiccup however shook his head. “No, but I know where we can find out.” he stated. “Are you up for a little excursion Throk?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Throk asked as he pulled his hood further down. They were nearing the Imperial Palace, the former headquarters of the Jedi, and a lot of Imperial soldiers were still around as the planet was not yet under fully Republic control.

“Stay close.” Hiccup told Throk. “I’m not that good at cloaking as Fishlegs.”

“Right” Throk mumbled as they made their way through the Imperial palace and past the guards that were still stationed there. “Why are we here again?” He asked out of confusion.

“What other place would we find the information we need?” Hiccup questioned. They made their way through the temple, avoiding guards and other obstacles along the way, until they reached the upper levels that housed the Jedi archives. “This area seems in quite good condition.” Throk observed.

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Hiccup questioned. “It is rumored that the Jedi Archives held the sum total of galactic knowledge.” Hiccup stated. “This place supposedly has records dating back millenia. I’m sure we’ll find something about Aries here.”

The highest part of the Imperial palace housed the large library. Its high vaulted ceilings and densely packed rows of empty shelves a large contrast to the spartan decorated levels below. No banners of the Empire hung here and both Hiccup and Throk treaded carefully into the the room. Cold silence greeted Hiccup and Throk as they marveled at what was once the greatest collection of knowledge in the galaxy. The damage from some battles was still evident on some parts of the library.

“Where ar-hmmf” Throk was cut off as Hiccup placed a hand over his mouth as he heard something. He quickly guided Throk towards one of the shelves to hide behind. There they crouched low as someone passed. There was a series of beeps and then someone said “I know R2. I know. I just hoped that there would be more on the Jedi Order here.”

They saw a set of boots passing by their hiding place and ducked lower. The pair of boots stopped for a moment near them causing the droid accompanying the person to bump into him. A flurry of beeps followed. “R2!” The man admonished. “I thought I sensed something near us.”  
Hiccup silently cursed and quickly dampened his presence in the Force. He realised that the man must be Force-sensitive, they had no problems passing the guards and only those strong in the Force might have sensed them.

“Hmmm” They heard. “I must have imagined it.” Was murmured as the droid beeped a few more times.

“No, I don’t think coming here was a waste.” The man answered. “We managed to find some information on the Jedi Order that Palpatine didn’t destroy.”

Another flurry of bleeps. “Why do you want me to visit my sister now?”

After the droid answered, the man said “She’s on Chandrila now, and yes, I know she’s pregnant. I’m just trying to rebuild this Order.”

The droid beeped again and this time Hiccup thought it sounded like something akin to exasperation. “Right, you do make a good point. Visit now instead of when she’s near her due date.” The man then said. “Han’s actually been keeping any blasters away from her since she told him.” The pair then made their way past Hiccup’s and Throk’s hiding spot and left the archives.

“Who was that?” Throk asked once Hiccup and him came out of hiding.

“Probably Luke Skywalker.” Hiccup told him without batting an eye. He started walking further into the archives and Throk quickly followed with a look of disbelief.

“Are you kidding me?” Throk asked as he caught up. “That was the hero of the Rebellion?”

“I’m still amazed that you didn’t realize it right away. Ever since the Battle of Endor people have been telling stories about him.” Hiccup stated as he found an undamaged terminal.

“Well this is interesting.” Hiccup mumbled as he accessed the terminal.

“You found information on Aries?”

“No” Hiccup mumbled. “It seems like very large parts of the archive have been intentionally purged. It looks like most of it was Jedi related.”

“You think the Empire did that?” Throk asked as they looked over the logs. “Partially yes.” Hiccup stated. “One of the login IDs however seems to belong to the Chief librarian of this place during the war.”

“Okay here we go.” He said as a search function appeared. Hiccup typed in Aries but the computer returned with ‘NO MATCH FOUND’.

“Well that’s just peachy.” Throk mumbled and wondered what Mala had been thinking about when she gave him such a vague message.

“Okay let’s try this again. I’ll try going back further.” Hiccup stated and widened the search parameters. ‘NO MATCH FOUND’ blinked back at them for a second time.

“If it doesn’t appear in these records, the it probably doesn’t exist.” Throk commented.

“Doesn’t exist, doesn’t mean it never happened or existed.” Hiccup mumbled more to himself.

“Where is a librarian when you need them?” Throk asked as he was getting frustrated.

“I know that this is frustrating.” Hiccup told Throk as he indicated for the man to be patient a little longer.

“Right, Sorry.” Throk mumbled. “It’s just….. I get that I’m impatient, but Mala….. She’s still stuck in that cell. I just wish she’d been a little less vague. I get that you just can’t ask some omniscient source.”

“THAT’S IT!” Hiccup suddenly jumped up from his seat startling Throk in the process. Throk held a hand to his heart from the sudden outburst. “We’ll ask the Force!”

“We’ll what?” Throk now exclaimed. “Why didn’t you just do that at your house?”

“Well…… The Force works in mysterious ways. For these types of answers you need to be in a location of great Force energy.” Hiccup explained. “Luckily we are sitting right on top of one.”

“We are?”

“Yes” Hiccup stated. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on this planet so everything is pretty different but I’m sure that this is the site of the Sacred Spire.”

“The what now?”

“The Sacred Spire…… you know the Force Nexus that the early natives of Coruscant worshipped. I had a chance to see it when Fishlegs and I boarded the sleeper ship.”

“Hiccup, when was the last time you were on this planet?” Throk asked as he had no idea what Hiccup was talking about. Hiccup frowned for a moment as he was deep in thought. “I think it was almost 26 millenia ago….” He mumbled not noticing Throk’s eyes go as wide as saucers.

“Did….. did… you say millenia?!” Throk nearly sputtered and shrieked but quickly composed himself.

“Yes, it’s a long story but I’m pretty sure we can get some answers here.” Hiccup mumbled. “We just need to get closer to the Nexus.” Hiccup said as he began to lead the way out of the Archives.

“Millenia” Throk mouthed incredulously as he followed closely. The hairs on his arms stood a bit on edge as Hiccup cloaked them again.

They had been walking for a while, mostly on the ground floor past several ransacked rooms and various twists and turns. “We’re lost.” Throk whispered. “I’m telling you we’re lost.”

“You……. May be right.” Hiccup admitted as they came to a stop. “I can feel the Nexus below us but there doesn’t seem to be a way to access it.”

“I do know that the Empire remodeled most of the temple. It’s entirely possible that they sealed up the old entrances.” Throk mentioned.

Hiccup thought for a moment before he looked around cautiously and took out his lightsaber and lifted his cloak.

Hiccup indicated for Throk to follow him to a smaller hallway. “I can sense the Nexus below us. It’s pulsing with Force energy.” Hiccup told him as he lit up his lightsaber. The dark purple blade illuminating the dark grey corridor in an almost eerie glow. “If they sealed up the entrances then we’ll just have to make our own.” Hiccup then proceeded to plunge his lightsaber into the floor and started making a hole.

“I’m in the presence of a madman.” Throk murmured under his breath as Hiccup was busy making a hole in the floor. The floor dropped into some other room below it and Hiccup indicated for Throk to hold onto him as he floated them down.

“What is this place?” Throk asked as the room was only illuminated by the purple glow of Hiccup’s saber. “I’m guessing that it’s one of the meditation chambers.” Hiccup surmised once they had landed. The chamber looked small and nearly circular. The walls seemed to be decorated with stone carvings of previous Jedi while at the front of the chamber a large black stone wall stood. “That’s as close to the Nexus as we’ll get.” Hiccup explained while pointing towards the black stone wall. He then proceeded to sit in a lotus position and closed his eyes. “Now…. we hope that this is where our answers lie.” Hiccup mumbled before he connected to the Nexus.

Meanwhile back on Prakith, Andeddu was sitting lazily on a large throne reading one of his many scrolls while his underlings, who had been taught a lesson, scurried about to keep him pleased. Camicazi entered the room and frowned at what she saw. “Well?” She asked as she placed her hands on her hips. “Have you found it?”

“I’m still looking.” Andeddu scowled at being interrupted. “Where has Dagur gone?”

“He had some business to take care of.” Camicazi explained. “He should be back in a few days. Why don’t I help you look?” She then suggested.

“NO!” Andeddu shouted as he held his scrolls close to him. He looked at Camicazi with wild eyes “You are not getting my knowledge. I agreed to help you find a way to gain immortality. I haven’t agreed to give you access to my books.”

“But it would go so much faster.” Camicazi reasoned but Andeddu just looked at her with wild eyes. “No! You don’t go near my knowledge! Knowledge is power and a true Sith does not share power.” He hopped off of his throne and with a swish of dark robes left the room.

“Damn melodramatic hoarder.” Camicazi hissed under her breath before she activated her commlink. “What! Can’t you see I’m busy!” Dagur grumbled as she heard sounds of blaster fire in the background. “Take that you weaklings!!” She heard Dagur cackle over the comm.

“Will you just listen.” Camicazi hissed. “Andeddu is being difficult. I think I know how the other Sith Lords felt when he reigned. He’s a pain in a Rancor’s behind. Hurry up with that package.”

“I’m getting to it!” Dagur growled. “I had to make a detour first. I managed to find some information when Andeddu was sleeping.”

“Alright. Call me when you get it.” Camicazi stated. “I’ll try to get into his good graces here.”

“Right” Was all Dagur said before he shut off his commlink. Camicazi sighed and then looked towards the dark hallway where Andeddu had disappeared towards.

Andeddu meanwhile had slammed the door to his chamber and was muttering while pacing in his room. “They all want it…. She’s just like the others. No it’s my knowledge.” He muttered to himself.

“You’re paranoid.” A voice suddenly rang through the room. Andeddu stopped pacing and looked around readying his body for a fight. “Over here you idiot.” Came the voice again. Andeddu cautiously walked over to the dusty mirror. In it he saw his reflection, well he saw his host’s reflection. The weird part was that the reflection was moving on his own.

“How?” Andeddu asked flabbergasted as he looked at the mirror to see the consciousness of his host body smirking at him.

“You’re slipping. I’ll soon have control over my body again.” The clone provoked.

“Your body is mine!” Andeddu growled back.

“Some mighty Sith lord.” The clone taunted. “Can’t even keep a single human under his contr-CRASH” The mirror broke as Andeddu punched a fist through it. It seemed like his reflection had then returned to normal but he could have sworn that he had heard a faint whisper in the Force saying “Soon”.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

Hiccup took a deep breath and then opened his eyes. He was not in the meditation room anymore. Around him stood a lush green field with several mountains in the background. The wind blew across the field and the grass rustled along calmly.

“Where am I?” Hiccup asked aloud. He wasn’t sure if he was even going to get an answer but he raised a brow when a man with greying hair stood before him suddenly. The man stood tall and wore a regal white armor with a golden trim. Hiccup sensed that something was wrong with this person. Unconsciously he took a step back. A hand rose up to stop him from retreating and the man said “You have nothing to fear from me Guardian.”

“You seem to know what I am.” Hiccup stated as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. ‘This man was dangerous.’ his mind supplied “Yet I have no idea what you are.”

“What instead of who.” The man chuckled. “Your senses are good if you are wary of me, but be at ease. I shall do you no harm.”

“Why did you appear before me suddenly?”

“You asked where you were, did you not?” The entity chuckled.

“And you know?”

“Of course I do. This is a representation of my, sorry, my former host’s homeworld.” The man said as the scenery changed. The grassland turned into a large swamp with massive overgrown trees.

“Host? So you aren’t human.” Hiccup mumbled.

“I was once.” The man stated with a pensive look. “My original name was Tenebrae. I had many names during my lifetime. One was Lord Vitiate.”  
Hiccup looked at the man with a raised brow. He sensed that there was much more to this man’s history but he wasn’t going to push further. “You said that this was the homeworld of your host?” He asked instead.

“This is the planet Zakuul. I took over the body of a human from this world named Valkorion and established this planet as the capital of the Eternal Empire.”

“Eternal Empire?” Hiccup asked curiously. “How come it isn’t in the archives? I doubt this had anything to do with the Jedi.”

“The history of my empire, and anything related to it, was purged long before your civil war started.”

“Why?” Hiccup questioned with a frown. “Why would anyone want to make it seem like you never existed?”

“Fear” Vitiate growled. “Both the Old Republic and the Sith Empire feared the might that I had accumulated. It escalated after my host’s death at the hands of his own son. My children were not worthy to command the Eternal Fleet.”

“What happened?” Hiccup asked as he watched the man suddenly look older.

“War” Vitiate growled. “A war that nearly wiped out all life. It only stopped when Scorpio defeated Aries years later.”

“You know of Aries? And who is this Scorpio?”

“You will know all in good time.” Vitiate told him. “It seems that we will have to cut this conversation short.”

“What! But I have so many more questions now.” Hiccup shouted as the man started to disappear.

“Seek out the old droid that made your weapon Guardian.” Vitiate stated. “Now it is imperative that you BLOCK!” Hiccup’s eyes snapped open and in a lightning fast move he ignited his lightsaber to block and deflect the blaster fire that had been aimed at his head. Throk was shocked that someone had found them and quickly ducked as more people fired through the hole that Hiccup had made. Hiccup stood up and dragged Throk with him towards the hole.  
“Why are we going towards the ones trying to kill us!” Throk shouted.

“It’s not like I can cut another hole now.” Hiccup muttered as he kept deflecting blaster fire. Once they were directly above the hole he told Throk to grab on.

“Grab on to what!” Throk shouted before Hiccup used the Force to jump up while holding onto the back of Throk’s robe.

“AAAAH” Throk shrieked as he was yanked into the air. Hiccup made swift work of the guards that had discovered them once they got through the hole.

“JEDI!” One of the guards managed to shout over his radio just before Hiccup knocked him out with the back of his saber.

“Oh great.” He grumbled as he could sense a flurry of guards heading to their location. “We have to go now!” Hiccup urgently said as he and Throk took off running for the exit.

Several guards rounded the corner and immediately started shooting at the duo. “Why are they shooting at us!” Throk huffed as he picked up his pace.

“They are Imperial troops. They think we’re Jedi! You do the math!” Hiccup shouted as he deflected more blaster fire. He reached into his robes and took out a commlink. “Astrid are you there?” He asked over the comm.

“Is that blaster fire I hear?!” Astrid shouted causing Hiccup to hold the commlink away from his ear. “Hiccup who did you piss off again?!”

“I’ll explain la-DUCK!” Hiccup shouted as he pushed Throk down just as a large blast sailed over their heads and impacted against one of the stone columns. Debris fell down as Hiccup looked up to see a very muscled man holding a large blaster rifle under his shoulder while laughing maniacally. Several more men joined the large man and aimed their pistols at not Hiccup but Throk.

“What the?!” Hiccup asked as they dove for cover.

“Get out here ya lily livered stowaway!” The large man gruffly shouted. “I’ll teach ya not to mess with me and my crew!”  
“Space pirates Throk!” Hiccup groaned. “You just had to have space pirates after you!”

“I can explain!”

“You better!” Hiccup spoke into the comm. “Astrid where are you?”

“I shoved Heather and Fish in the ship. We’re coming to your location right now.”

“Let’s go.” Hiccup told Throk.

“Go where?”

“Out of here or we’ll be pinned down from two sides.” Hiccup stated as he dove from their cover and lit the place up with Force lightning, blinding and shocking most of the people in the vicinity.

“Gah! Get back boys!” He heard the pirate shout. “This one’s dangerous!”

“Come on!” Hiccup singled for Throk to follow. They had nearly reached the entrance way when the burly pirate stood in their way.

“I’m not so easy to take down!” The man sneered and lifted his blaster rifle to shoot the pair at close range. Hiccup acted quickly, igniting the lightsaber and slicing the gun in half. He took a hold of Throk and used the Force to jump over the flabbergasted man, using his face as a stepping stone.

“Boss!!” Someone shouted as the large man fell backwards.

“AAHH!!”

“Will you stop screaming!” Hiccup cringed as it had been right in his ear. They were now on the walkway out of the palace, below them bustled an entire city. He picked up his beeping commlink. “Hiccup 10 seconds!” Astrid said.

“Got it.” Hiccup replied as they kept running.

“Hiccup!” Throk pointed in the direction that they were running to. At the end of the path a blockade had been formed by Imperial vehicles and troops who had their blasters pointed at the duo.

“I saw.” Hiccup said as they kept on running right at the blockade. “They take possible Jedi threats way too seriously. Too bad we’re not going in that direction.”

“Wait what?”

“4….. 3….” Hiccup counted and grabbed Throk’s wrist before jumping off the side of the walkway.

‘2…. 1’ Hiccup mentally counted while trying to drown out Throk’s girlish screams. They did not fall into oblivion as a sleek silver ship sped towards them, rotated sideways and caught them mid fall.

“Yes!” Astrid shouted from the cockpit of the ship as she turned to Heather. “See I told you I could do it!”

“Why did I let this mad woman drive?” Heather muttered under her breath as she got up from her seat to check on their passengers. She found them squishing Fishlegs to the side of the ship. Hiccup was in the middle while Throk had wrapped his legs around him and still had his eyes closed while shivering.

“Well doesn’t this make a pretty picture.” Heather sighed while she crossed her arms.

“Are we dead yet?” Throk whimpered.

“Where to Hiccup?” She asked while Fishlegs started helping Throk not be a nervous wreck anymore.

“Back to Florrum. We have a certain droid to question.” Hiccup told her before they jolted forward.

“What was that?!” Fishlegs squeaked.

“Probably the Imperial garrison that we’d been trying to avoid.” Hiccup told them. “They seem to think we’re Jedi.”

“And you didn’t dissuade them from that notion?” Fishlegs asked.  
“We were kind of busy not trying to die.” Hiccup dryly stated.

“Hiccup I have several TIE fighters inbound. Where are the weapons on this thing?!” Astrid shouted from the cockpit.

“There aren’t any!”

“What the frick do you mean there aren’t any!”

“How did you think I got this ship so cheap!” Hiccup shouted back. “Shuttle wreckage doesn’t go for much! I still needed to install the weapons array that I sent Fishlegs out to buy!”

“Next time buy the weapons first!” Astrid shouted before pulling up sharply. “Hang on. This will be a bumpy ride!” Hiccup and the others strapped themselves in as Astrid deftly avoided the weapons fire from the TIE fighters. They made it out of the planet’s atmosphere and Astrid engaged the hyperdrive and put the ship on autopilot before heading into the other area to find out what Hiccup and Throk learned.

Meanwhile somewhere on a mountainous world a black shuttle had landed. Heavy rain fell as a cloaked figure made his way out and to the waiting transport vessel that had parked not so far away. The ramp of the vessel opened and the cloaked figure quickly stepped inside.

“Greetings Lord Dasty”

“Ossidious” Dagur stated plainly as he lowered his hood. Some of his hair was singed from the previous firefight that he had been in and Ossidious tried to not comment on it.

“My I introduce my business associate Mr. Helister.” Ossidious gestured to a balding smarmy man.

“Greetings. It is such a pleasure to be in the presence of a Sith Lord of your magnific-” Helister was cut off when Dagur stated “Cut the chit chat and show me the merchandise. I have a schedule to keep.”

“Yes… right away.” The man hesitated for a moment before going into another area of the vessel. He quickly returned dragging a squirming sack behind him.

“I didn’t mean that the package literally had to be a package.” Dagur grumbled. He didn’t want this person to die otherwise he’d have to search for a new candidate. “Are you sure they are Force sensitive?” He asked. Either these people were going to cheat him or this person was extremely good at cloaking their Force-presence.

“Oh she is.” Helister smirked as he untied the bag causing Mala, still bound in chains, to tumble out.

“Mala!” Ossidious shouted in surprise “What…. How….”

“You know her Ossidious?” Helister asked as he now looked at his business partner.

“She’s my niece.”

“Well your niece just sent me back months. She liberated several shipments of merchandise and blew up a part of my installation.” Helister complained.

“Your shipments were children!” Mala spat as she glared at the man and then at her uncle. “This is a new low for you. Those children were going to be made into mindless soldiers.”

Ossidious flinched back from his niece’s glare. Dagur paid them no attention and instead watched Mala with interest. “She’ll do.” he told the two men.

“We’re glad that you’re satisfied.” Helister sucked up. “If you ever nee-CHA” He stopped talking when Dagur started Force choking him. Helister twitched and tried to struggle but soon fell dead upon the cold metal floor.

“What…. What did you do!” Ossidious shouted as he took a step back from the Sith lord.

Dagur regarded the man as if he was a mere bug not worth his attention. He ignited his red lightsaber and then pointed it at Ossidious’ quivering form. “This isn’t personal. I’m just tying up loose ends.” Dagur told him in a neutral tone before he struck. Once he was done he turned to Mala and dragged her back to his shuttle.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

Astrid was leaning against the bulkhead of the ship as she listened to Hiccup’s story. “So this Valkorion or Vitiate as he liked to call himself was the Emperor of Zakuul?”

Hiccup nodded. “I sensed that he was strong in the dark side of the Force.”

“And both the Sith and Republic at that time wanted to forget that this Eternal Empire ever existed?” Astrid asked to be sure. She did wonder what could have prompted them to wipe out an entire empire from history. “So now we have more questions than answers.” Astrid grumbled and placed her hand against her furrowed brow. “This Eternal fleet, Scorpio, and Aries is still a mystery. Are you sure going to Florrum is going to help us?”

“Vitiate did say to seek out the droid that helped make our lightsabers. Why would he point us in that direction if there wasn’t something to be gained from it?”

“If he was a powerful dark side user, then he might just be using you for some nefarious scheme even if he’s a Force spirit now.” Astrid stated. “I know how these people work Hiccup. I used to be one of them.” she grumbled.

“Hiccup how strong would you say this Force being was?” Heather asked out of curiosity.

Hiccup thought for a moment before he responded. “If we had to fight him in his prime I believe we wouldn’t win without suffering serious injury. That is if we could win at all.” Hiccup told them.

“Exactly my point.” Astrid mumbled. “We don’t know this being, we have no knowledge of his true strength or motivations. For all we know he could be planning to take over a new body to conquer the galaxy if what you told us is correct.”

“I think we should give this Vitiate a chance Astrid.” Hiccup stated. “I did sense some remorse when talking to him.”

“You are way too trusting Hiccup.” Astrid told him with a slight smile. “But I’m willing to revise my opinion of this being after we talk with Professor Huyang. A very long talk.”

“Oh, Snotlout, Eret and the twins are also heading to Florrum.” Astrid said as an afterthought.

“Oh?” Fishlegs asked curiously.

“I only received a brief message from them. Something about trouble on Mandalore.”

“Why do I have a feeling that this is all connected somehow?” Fishlegs groaned.

“The Force works in mysterious ways Fish.” Heather smiled.

“You mean it works in ways to give us headaches.” Fishlegs sighed.

“There is still one matter that needs to be discussed.” Hiccup stated as he turned to Throk who had downed all the sugar water that Fishlegs had provided. He was still somewhat jittery as he looked up. “How did you manage to piss off space pirates?” Hiccup asked.

“As I said before, we received intel from Maz that children were being kidnapped and brainwashed to become soldiers. Mala eventually got captured because the information wasn’t entirely correct. After infiltrating the area where Mala was being held prisoner, she provided me with the message I was to relay to you. I returned to Takodana to speak with Maz who pulled quite a few strings to find your whereabouts.”

“That still doesn’t explain the pirates.” Hiccup mumbled.

“The information wasn’t free.” Throk groaned. “I literally spend my entire savings to get it and then I didn’t have any credits left to buy a ticket to Coruscant.”

“Ah” Hiccup said as he got what had happened. “So you stowed away on a transport.”

Throk nodded. “Little did I know that the ship belonged to the Outcasts.” Throk groaned.

“Well Takodana is a pirate and smuggler haven.” Astrid commented.

“Yes but I literally chose the worst ship to stowaway on.” Throk sighed. “The Outcasts might seem like regular booze smugglers but they are notorious in the Unknown Regions. The rumor is that they have a hefty hand in the slave trade there since there isn’t any galactic power there to forbid it.”

Astrid grimaced “I forgot about that. It’s the same in Hutt space. The slave trade still exists there even though the Republic outlawed it. They were too chicken to go head to head with the Hutts, the Empire didn’t care and I doubt the New Republic will intervene. The Hutt hyperlanes are trade routes too valuable to lose.” She stated looking disgusted.

Meanwhile Dagur had landed his shuttle in front of Andeddu’s Keep. Mala who had been sleeping in an odd position in the shuttle was yanked up suddenly.

“Unhand me you swine!” Mala spat at him as she tried to move her cuffed hands out of Dagur’s grip.

“You best learn some manners.” Dagur hissed as he slammed her into the bulkhead.

“Oh I have manners but they would be wasted on you!”

“I could kill you, you know.” Dagur threatened.

“I doubt it.” Mala huffed. “You need me. You’re running out of time as we speak.”

“What would you know!”

“I know enough to surmise that you need someone who is Force sensitive yet not overly powerful.” Mala smirked. “How much time will be wasted if you have to start your search again?”

Dagur glowered at her and said with a malicious smirk “I don’t need a whole person.” as he opened the shuttle ramp and dragged her out. Mala still stood straight and was not about to be intimidated. She squinted slightly as she wasn’t used to the light on this planet, having come from a world in perpetual darkness. Dagur led her inside the Keep, keeping his gloved hand on his saber to emphasize his point.

They approached the Room Andeddu referred to as his study only to come face to face with Camicazi outside. “So this her?” She asked as she looked Mala up and down with an unimpressed look.

“Of course it is.” Dagur huffed. “I verified myself that she’s Force sensitive.”

“Well then we might have to make this quick.” Camicazi stated as she glanced at the closed door of the study. “It seems that he’s losing control.”

“Did you do what was required?” Dagur now asked.

“Of course. He’s quite susceptible after one of those bouts.”

Camicazi, Dagur and Mala entered the study which they found in complete disarray. Scrolls and books lay haphazardly on the floor as if someone had thrown them in a fit of rage. The walls bore evidence of a Force struggle and there in the middle of it all lay Andeddu half slumped over a chair with a book hanging loosely in his hand.

“Andeddu” Dagur called as he brought Mala forward. “Look what I brought!”

Andeddu lifted his head slightly to look at the trio. Normally he would have been composed and his usual Sith self but right now he couldn’t bring himself to care. The struggle with the other consciousness in this body had tired him out. His impudent host had kept fighting for control and he had almost got it. Here he was, the great Andeddu, Sith-God, nearly bested by a clone that had only about a year of Force training.

“What in blazes makes you think I need a woman?!” Andeddu hissed in annoyance. Mala flushed slightly at the implication before steeling her gaze. She still had an objective to complete here. She just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.

“Not for that!” Dagur grumbled. “She’s to be your new host.”

Andeddu huffed. “You think that I want a host with so little Force power.”

“Well you clearly don’t have control over this one.” Dagur reasoned. “Just look at yourself. You can’t even function right. The way you’re acting is unseemly.”

“I don’t need you to tell me wha-AARRG” Andeddu shouted as he suddenly clutched his head. He fell out the chair still clutching his head. Camicazi took a step forward but was stopped by the piercing gaze of mismatched eyes as they peeked out of auburn tresses.

“I will take great pleasure in ending you.” The voice of the clone hissed before Andeddu took over again.

Mala took her chance and rushed forward, knife in hand and held it up to Andeddu’s throat. She connected her and her hostage via the Force and that split second was all she needed to get the message through.

Mala landed in a dark space and was confronted by the host personality. “Who are you?” The clone asked.

“Someone you’ll be very grateful to later.” Mala stated and looked around “This dreamscape is so empty. You haven’t chosen your path yet.” It was more a statement than a query.

“I’m a Sith.” The clone simply stated and Mala shook her head. “No, you merely act like a Sith because that was what was chosen for you. You have yet to make up your mind. I had a vision from the Force, whether you chose the light side or the dark side you will accomplish great things.” She smirk that know-it-all smile. “Now make sure you keep that thing I placed in your pocket safe.” She stated before the clone could get in a word edgewise.

The moment was gone as Mala broke the connection to see Dagur and Camicazi bicker. “How can you not search her!” Camicazi screeched.

“Well excuse me!!” Dagur stated dramatically. “It was you who Force pushed me off a cliff when I was checking for weapons during our last conquest!”

“You were groping the Queen!!”

“I was checking for weapons!”

“In her bosom!!!”  
“Hey you hide knives in there all the time!!” Dagur countered as Camicazi seethed. “So excuse me for being cautious!!”

Andeddu rolled his eyes as he was still being held hostage while the two were bickering. Using a bit of the Force he yanked the knife out of Mala’s hand and turned her around. “Don’t think I’m a weakling.” He hissed at Mala as he held her up by her neck.

“I don’t think you’re weak.” Mala got out. “Just conceited, self-centered, arrogant….” She stopped as she was being choked now.

“You know I might revise my opinion of you.” Andeddi stated. “You certainly have the gall to challenge me. I’ll make you regret that once I have your body!” Dagur and Camicazi had stopped bickering and watched things play out. Andeddu groaned as he released himself from his host and his spirit then made his way into Mala’s body.

The clone’s body fell into a heap on the ground and Camicazi moved quickly to subdue him by placing the Force suppression collar back on. Mala’s body had also fallen to the floor but she was still unconscious. The clone however was awake and tried to get up. Camicazi shoved him back with a kick before she said “Don’t you dare try anything.” She then laughed “Not that you actually can. I’ve been feeding Andeddu Force suppressing drugs in case you got out.”

“You’ve been what?!” Andeddu shouted in Mala’s voice as he slowly stood up. “How dare you! That was why I was feeling so weak!”

Camicazi merely shrugged before she gave the clone a wicked smile. “Don’t worry. I have something special planned for you. You’ll probably never see the light of day again but who cares.”

Andeddu meanwhile tested out his new body and tried to undo the stun cuffs that Dagur had placed on Mala but found that he couldn’t. “Dagur get these things off of me.” He commanded and mentally started working out a training regimen to get this body up to his level.

“I think I’d rather not.” Dagur stated as he crossed his arms.

“What!” Andeddu hissed enraged. “You dare to disobey me!”

“It just seems easier with you in cuffs and a weaker body for us to get what we truly want.”

“You’d go this far for immortality?”

“No….” Dagur paused. “We’d go this far for the location of the Eternal fleet.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

  
The sleek silver ship soon came out of hyperspace and approached the familiar desert planet. Fishlegs sat in the co-pilot seat this time and looked at the radar. “It seems like nothing really changed here except for the sulfur geyser going through an intense period of activity right now.” He mumbled as the computer gave him a readout of the surface.

  
“Well then let's head for….” Astrid stopped mid-sentence and leaned forward slightly while narrowing her eyes.

  
“What’s the matter?” Fishlegs asked.

  
“I sense Snotlout on the planet. It’s faint but it’s definitely him.”

  
“Wait…… why have you memorized Snotlout’s Force signature?” He asked perplexed.

  
“In case he ever tries to sneak up to me to surprise me with one of his sleazy pickup lines.” Astrid grumbled as she cracked her knuckles. “Best to be prepared I always say.”

  
“Right” Fishlegs mumbled, not at all surprised by that. It certainly wasn’t the first time he’s seen Astrid clobbering Snotlout while Hiccup just facepalmed. “At least they made it here safely.”

  
“I wouldn’t say that.” Astrid grumbled before activating the comms. “Hiccup I think our friends are in trouble. How’s that weapons system coming?”

 

“You know that this ship wasn’t made to originally carry an armament right?” Hiccup mumbled over the comms before shouting “AAAHH Heather!! My foot!!”

  
“Sorry” Astrid and Fishlegs heard Heather say sheepishly.

  
“What happened?” Astrid asked as she steered the ship. “And think you can have something for us in about five minutes?”

  
“I accidentally dropped the small Ion reactor on him.” Heather explained as they could hear tinkering in the background.

  
“Astrid what’s the situation precisely?” Hiccup asked now.

  
“I’m sensing Snotlout and three other signatures fleeing from a large number of force signatures on the southern hemisphere. I sense a lot of anger from that group.” Astrid explained as Heather asked “Who did they piss off this time?”

  
“I don’t know but we are going to have to pick them up. I’d rather not go in there unarmed.”

  
“I think we’re good to go.” Hiccup suddenly said. “While the J-type 327 doesn’t carry weapons I did manage to configure the ship to emit an Ion pulse charge, but it will be at the cost of our deflector shields for now. At least until I can get a suitable replacement power source installed.”

  
“Hiccup the last time you build an Ion weapon it exploded!” Fishlegs shouted while Astrid was already entering the atmosphere. “My eyebrows grew back slightly crooked from that!”

  
“It was one time Fish! One time!” Hiccup grumbled over the comms.

  
“Fish, don’t worry. Windshear looked it over. She says that there is nothing to worry about………. In theory.” Heather tried to soothe her boyfriend.

  
“Oh great…….” Fishlegs deadpanned.

  
“Remember our deflector shields will be dangerously low.” Hiccup reminded.

  
“Don’t get hit. Gotcha.” Astrid stated as they neared the location where she sensed Snotlout. The sleek silver ship swerved past the sulfur geysers with precision and entered the rocky valley where Astrid and Fishlegs could now see the hoard that was following them.

  
“Are those Jawas?!” Astrid frowned as blaster fire could be seen. Snotlout, Eret and the twins came into view and it looked like they were being pinned down. “Let’s see how good this thing is.” She mumbled as she held her finger over the trigger button before positioning the ship between the two groups. With a click of a button a purple energy field started forming along the ship before firing at the Jawas.

  
Meanwhile, the events leading up to this for the other group were less than pleasant. It all started with trouble on Mandalore. Snotlout now grumbled from his bunk bed as Eret’s loud snoring filled their cabin. They and the twins had been flying in shifts in a derelict freighter that they managed to ‘borrow’.

  
The comms beeped and Eret let out a yawn and groan before answering. “Yes?”

  
“We have good news and bad news……” Tuffnut could be heard over the comm. Snotlout got up and that as Eret asked “What’s the good news?”

  
“We’ve reached Florrum.” Ruffnut‘s voice came over the comm now.

  
“And the bad news?” Eret asked as they quickly grabbed their gear and started making their way to the bridge.

  
“We seem to be out of fuel.”

  
“Kriff!” Eret cursed before starting to speed up. He skidded onto the bridge and Snotlout nearly ran into him when he suddenly stopped. “What do you mean we’re out of fuel!”

  
“Tuffnut who was stroking his bogwing, Chicken, just shrugged and said “I guess the man we borrowed this from hadn’t refuel yet.”

  
“And…. it’s not like we could ask him.” Ruffnut trailed off. “Well we could but then we’d probably be shot, of course after he woke up from you knocking him out.”

  
“Haha” Eret grumbled. “So what now?”

  
“Well…. We could wait in orbit until the others get here.” Ruffnut suggested as Chicken gave a yip in agreement.

  
“Or you could just leave the landing to me!” Snotlout boasted as he shooed Tuffnut out of the pilot’s chair. Chicken gave an indigent squawk at that. Snotlout cracked his knuckles and set the ship into a landing orbit before anyone could stop him.

  
“Snotlout you idiot!” Eret shouted as they started to shake violently.

  
“What’s happening?!!!” Snotlout shrieked.

  
“We’re out of fuel you idiot!” Eret shouted. “The inertial dampeners won’t work and our shields are out of commission! We’ll be lucky if we don’t burn up in the atmosphere!!”

  
“WHAT DO I DO!!”

 

“You said you knew how to land!”

  
“THEORETICALLY!!” Snotlout shouted back. “Remember I crashed our last ship as well!!!” Eret let out a groan as he gripped the controls. He ordered the twins to man the other consoles and try to manually stabilize the ship. “Hang on. This is going to be a very bumpy ride!”

  
“UGH” Eret groaned as he woke up. He sat up slowly and looked around to see Tuffnut having somehow landed on Snotlout, who had fallen out of his chair. Chicken was squawking on the floor while Ruffnut lay upside down over one of the consoles.

  
“What a ride!” She muttered as she came too and righted herself, her braids looking a bit frazzled. “Tuffnut get your behind out of my face!” Snotlout’s muffled grunt was heard followed by a yelp from Tuffnut as he was shoved off.

  
“Well at least we made it.” Tuffnut mumbled as he shot a glare at Snotlout. “No thanks to you!”

  
Eret was looking at the damaged nav computer before groaning and getting up only to slap Snotlout on the back of his head. “We’re in the wrong hemisphere!” He shouted before leaving the wrecked ship. The others gathered up their stuff before also following out.

  
Once outside they grimaced at the damage to the ship. “Well this thing isn’t flying anytime soon.” Ruffnut commented as she watched one of the engines fall off with a loud clang. A dark trail of smoke streaked across the sky showing their entry into the atmosphere.

  
“I don’t think this thing will be flying ever again.” Tuffnut amended as he held up what looked to be part of a metal door. Hey what’s that?” He suddenly asked upon seeing a large dust cloud heading straight for them. Eret had his binoculars with him and peered through them only to start cursing more.

  
“I suggest we run.” He muttered before taking out his blaster. “We have to get out of here.”

  
“Why?” Snotlout now asked.

  
“Our landing clipped a sandcrawler which fell onto another one next to it. We got about four minutes before we are swarmed by two clans of very pissed off Jawas! Need I say more?”  
“Running, gotcha!” Snotlout said as he and the twins quickly followed after Eret.

  
They ran and ran but the engines of the hovercrafts belonging to the Jawas was getting louder, as were the war cries. Eret made a tactical decision and pointed to a valley. “We go in there!” He said. “It will limit how many can pass through and I’d rather we not get surrounded!”

  
They took refuge behind some large boulders but Eret cursed as he had miscalculated. The Jawas had abandoned their hovercrafts at the valley entrance and rushed in on foot. Their faces were covered by the hoods of their distinctive brown robes but their pale yellow eyes showed anger. They, being a race of small stature, could fit much more of their people into the valley on foot than in vehicles that needed to be navigated carefully. Once the Jawas rushed inside they started firing their blasters at the boulders Eret, Snotlout and the twins hid behind.

  
“How long do you think we can keep this up?” Ruffnut asked as she was firing back.

  
“How long do you guys want to live?” Eret questioned.

  
“Good point.” Tuffnut muttered as he returned fire as well.

  
The Jawas were steadily advancing as the four began losing ground. Eret had to duck as a blaster shot came to close to his ear. He looked at the valley entrance when he spotted something coming towards them. “What is that?” He now asked and Snotlout yanked the binoculars, which were still around Eret’s neck, up to his eyes.

  
“Oh my stars!” Snotlout suddenly exclaimed. “That’s a J-type 327 Nubian starship! I’ve only seen those sleek designs in holopictures!”

  
“WHAT?” Eret rasped out as he yanked back his binoculars to look for himself. He indeed saw the ship now and it appeared to be heading straight for them. “Whoever is piloting that thing is crazy!” He uttered as he watched the ship deftly avoided the large sulphur geysers that were active at irregular intervals.

  
The ship rotated in a wide arc above the valley and then turned to face the hoard of Jawas. A purple energy could be seen forming along the ship’s body. The purple energy shot towards the hoard and the were flung backwards as their weapons were rendered inoperable.

  
The ramp at the back of the ship opened as it descended and the four could see Heather standing there with her arms folded. “Who’s responsible for all this!” She shouted. The twins and Eret immediately pointed towards Snotlout who groaned.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Snotlout was still huffy when they had finally reached the downed ship where Huyang resided. The ship and it’s musty corridors were just as they remembered them, cold, grey and lifeless. They made their way into the belly of the ship and to the room where they had crafted their lightsabers previously.

“Well now. What brings you lot back here?” They suddenly heard once they had stepped into the room. Turning towards the sound they saw the old droid approach them from behind the high shelves.

“Hello Huyang.” They greeted. “It’s…….. Complicated.” Hiccup said.

“I’m sure it can’t be that complicated.” Huyang mumbled as his parts creaked.

“The Darksaber was stolen.” Eret said, wasting no time, while Hiccup added “And we need to know about Aries, Scorpio and the Eternal Empire.”

Huyang looked a bit uncomfortable, at least from what Heather observed. “And why would you come to me about this?”

“You’re kidding right?! You know every lightsaber crafted.” Eret mumbled incredulously. “You said so yourself!”

“And a Force ghost named Vitiate told us to ask you.” Hiccup stated. If it was possible for Huyang to turn as white as a ghost then the droid would have done so. He shook slightly as he approached Hiccup “I’ve witnessed many things, from the Battles of Rashfond, to the Peacekeeping of Parliock. I never thought to hear the name Vitiate uttered again.”

“So you do know him.” Astrid stated as she crossed her arms. Huyang nodded and indicated for the group to find places to sit. With a heavy sigh Huyang mumbled “These will be very long stories. They may look like they have nothing in common but they do.”

“As I’ve said just now, I never thought the name Vitiate would ever have been uttered again. Not after the entire Eternal empire was erased from history. Only a few knew of its existence, almost none are alive now.” Huyang sighed as he continued.

“So……. what happened?” Ruffnut asked.

“Vitiate was an ambitious man, a Sith living during the Old Republic era.” Huyang stated. “His ambitions drove him to create a grand empire, rivaling those of the Old Republic and the Sith. He ruled with an iron fist and at the forefront of his empire stood the Eternal fleet.”

“So….. this Eternal fleet is just a bunch of ships right?” Snotlout asked only to be glowered upon by the old droid.

“A bunch of ships! A bunch of ships you call them!” Huyang grumbled. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw them extinguish entire star systems! Both the Republic and the Sith feared this fleet. It was Vitiate’s ambition to reshape the galaxy that brought these three powers into war but it was after his death at the hands of his own son Arcann that things escalated. At some point Arcann got dethroned and his younger sister Vaylin took over. That’s when Aries arrived on the scene.”

“You know………” Astrid mumbled. “I was thinking, this all happened millennia ago. So how could anyone have the technology to destroy entire star systems? The Empire’s Deathstar could only destroy a single planet at a time, and that technology was developed recently.”

“You are absolutely right young lady.” Huyang stated. “It was the time when the first lightsabers were being made. Neither the Republic nor the Sith possessed that level of technology, but I never stated that the Eternal fleet was created by Vitiate.”

“You’re suggesting that another power was responsible for these ships?” Fishlegs asked. “A civilization that was on par with the Celestials. Did such a civilization even exist at the time?”

“Hey, we might have been powerful” Meatlug mentally commented on Fishlegs’ statement “But we hadn’t explored all of this galaxy, even in all the millennia that we had settled here. You’d be surprised at what wonders and mysteries can be found in the Unknown Regions.”

“So….. who were the ones who made this Eternal fleet?” Hiccup now asked.

“No one knows their true name.” Huyang stated as Snotlout muttered “Isn’t that convenient.” The droid gave him his version of a glare for interrupting. “As I was saying, they were a very advanced civilization, composed almost entirely out of scientists and engineers who spend countless cycles designing weapons of mass destruction and testing it on many unsuspecting worlds.”

“Why…….. Would they do that?!” Fishlegs suddenly spoke up. “Didn’t those worlds have sentient lifeforms?”

“Of course they did.” Huyang stated solemnly. “They only cared about their experiments and were by no means thinking about conquering these worlds. Their homeworld was called Iokath, a massive sphere constructed around a star located in the Iokath system, which lies somewhere in the Unknown Regions. The story goes that they demolished every orbital body in the system down to the last asteroid, and salvaged them.”  
“You seem to know an awful lot about these people.” Eret commented, earning him a light whack from Huyang’s cane.

“OUCH!” Eret yelped as he covered his head. “Alright alright. We get it. No more interruptions!”

Huyang nodded before continuing his story. “Iokath was the birthplace of Aries, Scorpio, The Eternal fleet and the Gemini droids that commanded it. Now you may wonder, what ever happened to such an intelligent species?” The twins nodded, as did the others.

“Like all organic beings, conflict erupted and with their society the had countless weapons of mass destruction at the touch of a fingertip. Aries was one of their A.I.’s. I have often wondered if he had nothing to do with the escalating tensions between his builders. The fact remained that he was the sole survivor as the Iokathians killed themselves. Scorpio and the Eternal fleet were sent away before the last battle but they returned years later under the rule of Empress Vaylin. At that point Aries had become a xenophobic intelligence bent on eradicating all life in the galaxy.”

“Sooooooo!!” Heather suddenly said. “Don’t keep us in suspense! What happened!!”

“Heather you really need to lay off the Holodramas.” Ruffnut could be heard whispering as Heather’s cheeks tinged pink.

“The Eternal fleet could be controlled by devices called thrones. One of these devices ended up in Vitiate’s hands. It was later destroyed on Odessen after Scorpio liberated the Gemini droids from Aries. Scorpio managed to defeat Aries on Iokath and became one with the mechanical planet afterwards. Not much is known about what happened afterwards. Both the Old Republic and the Sith decided that what had transpired there was too dangerous to ever be released and with Scorpio’s help decided to erase both the Eternal Empire and Iokath from any official records. Scorpio herself made the planet and fleet disappear.”

“Well that is understandable.” Hiccup mumbled. “You wouldn’t want such destructive power to come in the hands of someone unsuitable. But how does this Darksaber fit into this story?”

Huyang now looked directly at the two Mandalorians. “Tell me, what do your people say about the Darksaber.” He asked. Both Snotlout and Eret looked at each other before Eret decided to speak. “The Darksaber was unlike normal lightsabers, then and now. I only know of Hiccup’s blade which comes close in resembling it.”

“It does?” Both Hiccup and Toothless asked surprised. Eret nodded before continuing. “Yes, I was surprised to see it when we first met. The Darksaber is said to have been crafted by the only Mandalorian ever to have become a Jedi, Tarre Vizsla. After his death it remained in the Jedi temple until the Mandalorians stole it. From that point on it had been passed down from members of the Vizsla clan for generations. The saber is seen as a symbol of authority for Mandalorians everywhere.”

“So that is the tale the Jedi order spun.” Huyang mumbled catching everyone’s attention.

“Are you insinuating that Tarre Vizsla didn’t craft the darksaber?!” Snotlout asked a bit heatedly.

“You two came here to know why the darksaber was taken. According to your own words I would know every lightsaber crafted. Haven’t you ever wondered why the darksaber looked so different from other lightsabers. There are only theories of its power source. That blade holds many secrets, secrets that should have been taken to the grave.” Huyang stated.

“Okay, what are you talking about?” Snotlout now asked as he looked at the old droid in complete bafflement.

“The Jedi order, then still called the Jedaii order, served the Old Republic during the time of the Eternal Empire. Many weapons of the Iokathians fell into the hands of other species. One of which was a Jedaii master known as the Weapons Master. It was he who crafted the first prototype lightsaber after getting his hands on the darksaber.”

“So the Iokathians developed the darksaber, the Jedi reverse engineered it into the lightsaber and then used it for their Order.” Fishlegs summarized.”Yes, Tarre Vizsla was only the keeper of the blade.” Huyang confirmed.

“But why would the Republic go to so much trouble to hide this saber. What does it have to do with Aries?” Several people asked at once.

“You would have to ask Scorpio that yourselves.” Huyang stated before taking off a round object off his arm. “This will lead you to Iokath.”

“Huyang,.......” Hiccup hesitated when he took the object from the old droid. “Were you one of these Gemini droids?” He asked. It was one of the only things that made sense in his mind. All the old droid did as give Hiccup a wink and a laugh. Hiccup looked down at the object and saw that it was some type of portable holographic star chart.

Huyang left the group soon after and they headed back to the ship, intend on figuring out the device they were given.

Meanwhile in a familiar egg-shaped starship, Andeddu groaned in pain as his back hit the ship’s hull. “You shouldn’t try to fight.” Dagur smirked wickedly as he towered over Mala’s prone body.

“Don’t think you’ve won yet!” Andeddu groaned as he tried to stand up. His Force powers were still being inhibited as Dagur lifted his host’s body into the air.

“Will you stop playing with your food.” Camicazi chastised as she leaned against the doorway that had just opened.

“Speak for yourself.” Dagur said. “Did you get rid of that nuisance?”

“I did.” Camicazi smirked as she held up a pouch for him to see. “I even made quite a bit of credits on him.” She then looked at Andeddu. “He’s still being tight-lipped?”

“Stubborn as a Rancor.” Dagur grumbled.

“Maybe you aren’t being persuasive enough.” Camicazi suggested.

“Don’t think I will tell you anything either.” Andeddu hissed.

“Oh…. I won’t be asking.” Camicazi smirked as she raised her hand. Andeddu could feel her gathering the Force around her. “I will be taking.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

  
Andeddu grunted in pain as Mala’s body hit the floor of the bridge. “Thought you might want to see this.” Camicazi shrugged from the pilot’s seat as Dagur hefted Mala’s body up. Out of the viewport nothing but the deep dark empty void of space could be seen.

“What she means is, it better be here or I’ll gut you like a flea.” Dagur stated. Camicazi gave him an odd look “Don’t you mean, squish like a flea, or bug, or something?”

“Why can’t I say gut!” Dagur now whined.

“Because it makes no sense!” Camicazi groaned. “I doubt you can gut a flea with a lightsaber!”

“Hey! It’s mine saying!”

“That’s exactly my point!” Camicazi grumbled as she rubbed her temple in annoyance. Andeddu let out a sigh. It was still a strange feeling to be in a new body. This one seemed to have some Force training but not the amount that the clone had gotten. He still missed the power that he wielded when in his previous host body and hadn’t gotten used to possessing less of it. He doubted that these two would have truly tried anything against him if he still wielded that power.

“Well!” Dagur shook Andeddu out of his reverie as he indicated to the viewport.

“It’s here.” Andeddu sighed. “At least I think so.”

“You think so?” Dagur scowled.

“Hey, give me a break!” Andeddu huffed as he clenched his hands that were still bound by the stuncuffs. Camicazi had added extra suppressors and now he couldn't even connect to the Force anymore. “It’s been ages since I even thought of the location. I wasn’t even on the frontlines for these battles.”

“Right, well I don’t see any planet here or fleet!!” Dagur growled.

“It’s here. It’s here alright.” Andeddu stated. “According to you this is a Celestial ship right. So just steadily get closer.”

“Why would we do that?” Camicazi now asked as she craned her head to look back.

“Because AI’s can’t help but be curious.” Andeddu stated cryptically.

Camicazi shot him a pointed look that promised a painful death before simply flying around the area at sublight speed. They were getting quite annoyed as almost half an hour passed without anything happening. Dagur was tapping his foot in annoyance and impatience when the ship suddenly stopped. He was thrown forward and nearly hit his head on a console if he hadn’t had his hands out in front of him to break the fall.

“Why did you stop?!” Dagur shouted.

“It wasn’t me!” Camicazi stated. “I’ve lost control of the ship.”

“What! How!”

“It looks like we’re caught in some type of tractor beam. I can’t pinpoint a source of origin.”

“Get the plasma torpedoes online.” Dagur ordered and was about to go man the guns when Andeddu stopped him.

“You wouldn’t want to do that if I were you.” He told them calmly. The statement sounded surprisingly strange coming out of Mala’s mouth.

“And why not?”

“Isn’t this what you wanted Dagur?” Andeddu showed no emotion as he stared at the carrot top Sith. “We will most likely be vaporized if we show any hostile actions.”

“Are you saying that this tractor beam is going to bring us to the Eternal fleet?” Camicazi now asked as her hand ghosted over the trigger button.

“I’m saying that you all wanted to know about this location. What happens afterwards I wouldn’t know, but I doubt arming weapons is going to get you what you want right now.”

“Fine” Dagur huffed, clearly not happy that he couldn’t blow something up. Their weapons powered down and then the ship jerked slightly from the pull of the beam and Camicazi’s eyes widened at what appeared before her.

“Holy Sith in a hand basket!” She exclaimed getting the others’ attention. She pointed out of the viewport and their eyes widened as a massive golden-like sphere suddenly appeared in space that could dwarf a Class O star as if it was nothing. The tractor beam kept pulling them in and they marveled at the sight before them once they had passed through the atmosphere of what appeared to be a giant manmade planet. Towering metal buildings jutted out from the landscape and were shaped to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

“This place makes Coruscant look like a backwater planet.” Dagur mumbled absentmindedly as they passed under an arch that seemed to be inlaid with beautiful engraved artwork. The large egg-shaped ship was guided to a landing station that could have fitted a stardestroyer.

Dagur and Camicazi exited the ship with Dagur prodding Andeddu to walk as well. The opulence of the buildings around them was mystifying. “It’s been millennia, so how come all these buildings look so brand new?”

No sooner had she asked that when a small droid came up to greet them. “Well there you go.” Dagur stated. “I wouldn’t be surprised that this place is crawling with maintenance droids.”

“But why?” Camicazi now wondered. “It’s not like anyone is actually living in any of these buildings.”

They followed the small floating droid as it guided them to a much darker part of the city. There they were ushered into a black building that looked more like a fortified bunker. There they came face to face with a large holographic image of a beautiful woman.

“Greetings visitors, I am Scorpio.” The holographic image said. “Welcome to Iokath.”

“Eh……….. Hello?” Camicazi said, for once at a loss for words.

“Tell me, it is most curious indeed. Humans that have traveled on a ship that far exceeds their technological level, why have you come here?”

“We are here for the Eternal fleet!” Dagur proclaimed quite brazenly before Camicazi could stop him.

“Then you have come in vain.” Scorpio stated. “The fleet has been disassembled millennia ago.”

“YOU LIE!!” Dagur now shouted.

“Alas I do not lie. The Eternal fleet was deemed too dangerous to exist millennia ago. I gave the order to dismantle them two years after I became one with this planet.” Scorpio stated impassively. “Instead I have waited eons for those who have the strength and resolve to inherit the legacy of my creators, this planet.”

“Does this look like we care about that!!” Camicazi now hissed. “I don’t believe for a second that the fleet doesn’t exist anymore!! You must be hiding them you two-faced bucket of bolts!” She proceeded to grab the hilt of the Darksaber from Dagur’s belt and ignite it. “Just wait until I plunge this into your memory circuits!”

The lights in the room suddenly dimmed, giving the room a menacing feel. The large metal doors behind them slammed shut and Scorpio hissed “You dare bring THAT back here!! You have doomed us all!”

Meanwhile, sometime later, Astrid was trying not to kill Tuffnut who was in the copilot seat next to her. “Are you sure these coordinates are correct?” Tuffnut asked for the umpteened time.

“Yes I’m sure!” Astrid growled. “And yes, I even adjusted for planetary shift over the millennia.” She added. They soon came out of hyperspace in the Unknown Regions and were face to face with a golden sphere.

“Shouldn’t this place be hard to find?” Tuffnut now asked. Hiccup and the others had joined Astrid and Tuffnut in the cockpit. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but Heather wasn’t complaining as she leaned against her boyfriend. Meanwhile Fishlegs was fighting back a blush while the others remained oblivious.

“I have to agree with Tuff on this. Finding it was way too easy.” Hiccup mumbled. Astrid cautiously guided the ship towards the atmosphere. Everybody was holding their breaths at what they would find there.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Mouths hung open as they descended further towards the surface of the golden planet. There was no sign that they were unwelcome, in fact, there was absolutely no sign of life at all. Astrid guided their ship around various large buildings.

“This is strange” Ruffnut commented from behind a console. “It looks like large amounts of power is being diverted from the city grids.”

“Where to?” Astrid asked.

“That’s the strange part. I can’t seem to find the source.”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Fishlegs commented as the group watched the dark city.

“The fact that a man-made planet, older than most of this galaxy’s civilizations, still has an active power grid, or that something is sucking away all that power?” Heather asked as she gave Fishlegs a curious look.

“Let me rephrase that, I have a very very very bad feeling about this.” Fishlegs now stated.

“Astrid, I’m reading three life signs sixty kilometers at your ten o'clock.” Ruffnut stated.

“Well that has to be Dagur and Camicazi.” Tuffnut mumbled. “But who’s the third?”

“Andeddu most likely. I felt the bracelet break through the Force some time ago.” Hiccup guessed. “That is if they managed to find him a host body.”

“Hiccup” Astrid had a dangerous edge in her voice. “Maybe next time you can tell us in advance when a very ancient and powerful Sith has been released into the galaxy.”  
“Sorry” Hiccup looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “He may be powerful but he’s more of an annoyance than a threat.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Heather laughed. “He’ll probably throw a tantrum. His ego could easily dwarf this planet.”

Astrid, meanwhile, had found a place to park the cruiser. She set the ship down gently upon the large landing platform. All was eerily quiet around them as they exited the craft. Only a strong gust of cold wind blew past them making them shiver slightly. Ruffnut pointed in the direction of one of the large buildings. “The life signs came from there.” She told them while getting her blaster ready. The others also had their sabers and blasters ready if a fight would ensue.

While getting closer to the building they heard some strange sounds. Hiccup stopped the group and looked around the corner. He frowned at what he saw. There a small group of droids, who looked like they had been guarding the entrance to the building the group was heading for, seemed to be getting cornered and blasted to smithereens by a much larger set of droids.

Hiccup, without thinking, used the Force to smash the aggressive droids against each other before knocking the whole group off a ledge. “Hiccup we are trying not to get noticed!” Astrid, who had also peeked out, hissed in his ear.

“I couldn’t just leave those poor droids to fend for themselves!” Hiccup mumbled. “They looked more like maintenance droids than actual combat droids.”

Meanwhile the little droids looked around confused. There was a flurry of beeps before three spread out in search of what had happened. One of the droids rounded the corner that the gang was hiding behind and stopped. “Oh this can’t be good.” Throk mumbled as the droid started alerting the others.

Snotlout, Eret and the twins had their hands on their blasters but Fishlegs stopped them when no hostile actions were taken by the congregating droids. One of the droids was pushed forward and came closer to the group slowly. A series of beeps followed. Hiccup looked at Astrid and said “My binary is a bit rusty but did that droid just say it wanted to spank us?”  
The little droid beeped again, in a flurry this time, as if it was embarrassed. Astrid rolled her eyes before saying “He said that it wanted to thank us.”

“Oh” Hiccup’s cheeks pinked at having misunderstood. He gave the droid a sheepish look while the others sniggered. The droids looked to be having an internal discussion with each other before beeping in unity and indicating for the group to follow them.

Warily they rounded the corner to see another droid opening the large doors of the building for them. The little droid that had approached them first indicated for the group to follow them. They entered with caution. The floor was empty except for a turbolift at the end which automatically opened.

“That’s not creepy at all” Snotlout swore. “Nope, not creepy at all.” Once everyone was squished into the turbolift it descended. The doors of the turbolift opened and the gang cautiously walked into a very dark area.

“I’m not liking this!” Fishlegs mumbled as he walked closer to his girlfriend who had her hand on her lightsaber.

“Please lower your weapons. We mean you no harm lest your intentions are malicious.” A voice suddenly spoke from the darkness causing the gang to jump slightly in shock. Snotlout, until this very day, would swear that he did not scream as if a Nexu had bitten him in the behind.

They heard a creaking sound and then slowly a female droid shape appeared before them. From the darkness that surrounded them a multitude of red dots lit up showing them how many droids were in the room at the moment. Astrid and the others had no doubt that these droids could become hostile at any given moment.

“Scorpio?” Hiccup asked tentatively as everyone gazed at the female droid.

“Yes, who is asking?” Scorpio confirmed before her mechanical eyes landed on the round device on Hiccup’s belt. “Is that?” She gestured to it. Hiccup looked down and removed the device he had gotten from the old droid from his belt. He held it up for Scorpio to see.

“You know General Huyang?” Scorpio asked as her hand ghosted over the old holographic device.

“General?” Heather curiously asked while the twins asked “Old man Huyang?”. Scorpio gave them a nod. “Yes Huyang, former General of the Eternal fleet.” Several jaws dropped at that piece of information.

“Come” Scorpio said as she indicated for them to follow. “We have much to discuss.” They were led to a door at the back. The room behind it was as large, or most likely larger, than the one they were in. It contained a numerous amount of monitors as well as what they suspected were memory cores. The monitors showed sections of the city as well as schematics that they couldn’t decipher.

“I’m sure Huyang must have told you a bit of what had transpired in the past.” She stated while gesturing for them to take a seat. The gang nodded.

“What happened here?” Astrid now asked. “Huyang mentioned you had become one with the planet. This…..” She gestured to the droid that Scorpio inhabited. “Doesn’t seem like being one with the planet.”

“Unfortunately you are right. I am currently not in charge of this planet. Three individuals visited before you. They demanded the Eternal fleet. When I related to them that the fleet had been decommissioned millennia ago they turned hostile. The female activated the Darksaber which is the current cause of us being here instead of the actual reception room.”

“How? How can one lightsaber do that?” Eret now asked as he leaned forward slightly.

“The Darksaber is no mere lightsaber. It was specially made as a containment device.” Scorpio stated.

“Containment device for what?” Heather and Fishlegs asked in unison.

“For Aries.” Scorpio told them. “I had managed to defeat Aries centuries ago. Yet he couldn’t be killed in entirety. The hilt of the Darksaber contains a secure data crystal that contained the last of his programming. It was given to the Republic with assurances that it wouldn’t make its way back to Iokath. The Darksaber could be ignited anywhere but here normally, a weapon for the one acting as the data crystal’s warden. If activated here it would give Aries the opportunity to connect back to the stellar mainframe.”

“That sounds bad.” Snotlout mumbled.

“It is bad. I was wholly unprepared for Aries’s intrusion into my data banks. Within minutes he had crippled my defenses and taken control of the Gemini droids. Luckily the planet’s maintenance droids are on a separate network that he has yet to penetrate or simply doesn’t care about.” Scorpio explained while gesturing to some of the monitors that showed heavy patrols around a fortified bunker-like building. “I was forced to retreat back into my original droid body and seek shelter here in a backup hub.”

“If Aries has control over the planet then how come that we weren’t shot down or vaporized?” Fishlegs now asked.

“Aries thinks that organic lifeforms are beneath him. He most likely has noticed your arrival but doesn’t seem to think you pose any threat to him. He’s currently more occupied with getting the Genesis engine to work.”

“The what??!!” Ruffnut asked. “Is that where all the power is being diverted to?”

“The Genesis device is the ultimate creation of the Iokathians. Not the fleet, not the Gemini droids or even Aries or I. The Genesis device had the power the theoretically destroy all organic lifeforms in the galaxy at once. My creators deemed it too dangerous for it to exist and disassembled it, but the three visitors before arrived in a technologically advanced ship. Currently Aries is trying to interface the ship with the Genesis device.

“He’s what!” Windshear mentally shrieked. Heather, Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs winced as they could hear her. “How dare that bucket of bolts touch my ship!” They had nearly forgotten that Windshear was one of the original designers of the last Celestial ship.

“Once Aries achieves his goal all living matter in the galaxy could be eliminated with the push of a button.” Scorpio finished telling them.

“Okay…… so… basically we have to stop an AI from committing galactic genocide and stop an overpowered superweapon.” Hiccup mumbled as he thought.

“Where is this Genesis device?” Heather asked. Scorpio pointed down. “It is close to the core. There are several exhaust vents on the planet that could get you to the location but they are all heavily guarded. The droids that I currently have with me can’t penetrate the defenses.”

Hiccup was deep in thought when Astrid asked “What happened to your previous visitors?”

Scorpio gestured to one of the droids that were accompanying her. The droid left only to return some minutes later with a few others. They were carrying three bodies. Two of those were tied up and gagged while the third was unconscious.

“Mala!” Throk shouted in worry as he rushed toward the unconscious woman. “What did you do to her?” He asked as he turned to Scorpio when Mala wouldn’t wake.

“She was their prisoner.” Scorpio stated. “Scans revealed that a second entity was possessing her. We have since been able to separate them. She will remain asleep for another day or so.”

“And this entity?” Hiccup now asked completely ignoring the tied up, gagged and wigging Dagur and Camicazi. He was sure that it had to be Andeddu.

“It left this plane of reality of its own accord once separated from its host, but not before hitting these two with a dose of Force lightning while cursing their stupidity.”

“Yeah… I can see Andeddu doing that.” Fishlegs mumbled.

“Scorpio…….. Would an ion cannon have any effect on Aries or the device?” Hiccup suddenly asked.

“My droids have scanned your ship while patrolling the area. The data shows that you have a functioning ion weapon. Unfortunately it is not strong enough to affect the Gemini droids for more than a few seconds.” She stated. “Your plan to use that weapon would be ineffective.”

“What if it was stronger?” Hiccup asked.

“Oh hell no Hiccup!!” Fishlegs suddenly stood up. “There is no way you can be thinking about doing THAT!”

“Fishlegs…. Come one….. It only blew up twice!”

“And scared the bejeebers out of Celestial beings.” Fishlegs grumbled. “Celestial beings!!” Fishlegs emphasized.

“Would this work?” Scorpio asked intrigued.

“Theoretically” Hiccup told her.

“I am willing to try anything that can prevent mass murder.” She stated and then pointed towards Dagur and Camicazi. “These two…… are not to be trusted. Since they are human it will be your decision what happens to them.”

Hiccup looked at the two squirming Sith. “They’d more than likely doublecross us the first chance they get. Scorpio do you have a garbage chute nearby?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

A flurry of activity occurred once Dagur and Camicazi had been ‘disposed of’. Once Hiccup had relayed his plan to Scorpio she set her droids to work at retrieving the necessary equipment. Generating the calculations and blueprints for the devices Hiccup was proposing took merely a few hours with the help of an highly advanced AI and a small army of droids. Astrid and the others looked on in amazement as the maintenance droids worked with precision, assembling the required pieces.

“Just what is Hiccup building?” Astrid asked Fishlegs who looked quite pale. He was biting his nails and looking nervously at the device. Astrid poked Fishlegs in his side when she noticed that he hadn’t even heard her.

“GAAAH!” Fishlegs screamed and jumped a few inches in the air attracting the attentions of several droids that were passing by.

“Astrid please don’t do that. I’m nervous enough.”

“What’s there to be nervous about? I mean what could possibly go wrong?” Astrid now asked. The look Fishlegs and Heather shot her spoke volumes.

“Well….. He could blow up the planet, this system, or rip up the very fabric of space and time.” Fishlegs summed up. Astrid’s eyes along with Eret’s and Snotlout’s widened comically.

“You have to be joking!” She mumbled while the twins oohed and aahed.

“Not when Hiccup’s making a Quantum deflector.” Fishlegs explained. “His previous prototype nearly did some serious damage to the realm the Celestials were living in.”

“That was because I forgot to factor in the variables of a new dimension Fish.” Hiccup stated from where he had his nose buried in some schematics on various datapads.

“What’s a Quantum deflector?” Snotlout now asked while scratching the side of his head in confusion. “It sounds like something edible.”

“Well quantum means a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents.” Tuffnut explained. He was met with astonished looks. “Hey….. I can know stuff!”

“I did not understand a word that you just uttered.” Snotlout grumbled.

“Basically Snotlout once this device has been hooked up to the ship it will be supercharged.” Hiccup explained.

“Does this thing have enough firepower to blast through several armies of Gemini droids?” Astrid asked as she had see the schematics for those droids after Hiccup had started planning. She had to admit that the Iokathians had been masterful when designing them.

“It’s not firepower I’ve been focussing on. The Ion cannon has enough power to incapacitate them while we slip past. The problem is the drain the cannon has on our deflector shields. Once the quantum deflector is added to the ship’s systems it won’t be a problem anymore.” Hiccup explained. “The device will give our current deflector shields a major upgrade. It will enhance the shield strength and lower the drain significantly. It also has a healing function.”

“A what now?” Eret asked.

“A healing function.” Hiccup repeated and then thought on how to explain it. “If we’re hit with an energy weapons then the shields will absorb it and convert it into energy which can be diverted to either the weapons system or the shield itself. The engines will only need a small upgrade to handle the additional energy conversion once this is installed.”

The group was watching Hiccup with wide eyes for a moment before Ruffnut spoke up. “So basically our opponents will be charging our shields?” She asked and Hiccup nodded. “You sir are a genius! I could just kiss you!”

“OYE! He’s mine!” Astrid suddenly shouted and then clamped a hand over her mouth as the twins started laughing while Hiccup’s cheeks pinked.

“So does that mean we can finally go kick some behind?” Snotlout asked.

“Yes Snotlout, we can go kick some behind now.” Hiccup laughed.

It did not take Scorpio long to install the device on the cruiser as Hiccup modified the engines. They were ready to fly in less than twenty minutes. “I had these made for you.” Scorpio said while handing them three cube-like devices. “They are EMP grenades that have the capacity to render Aries inoperable for a brief amount of time so that he cannot upload a part of his consciousness again. Also your ship is connected to my network and I will be able to guide you to the Genesis device. I hope this plan works. I do not wish to see the images of war anymore nor see the freewill of my droids taken away.”

They thanked Scorpio before heading into the ship. Hiccup started the startup sequence once everyone was strapped in. The steady hum of the engines could be heard as the cruiser floated up and Astrid retracted the landing gear. “Activating the quantum deflector now.” Hiccup announced as he observed something on the console.

“So how do we know if it’s working?” Throk asked from where he had strapped Mala in securely. She was still a bit groggy but seemed to have woken up earlier.

“Well we haven’t blown up yet. That’s a good sign.” Hiccup mumbled. “The engines seem to be able to take the extra energy from the new deflector just fine.”

“I have the map that Scorpio provided on the nav computer now.” Astrid stated. “Everybody hold on. This will be one hell of a test drive!”

The sleek silver ship shot off at great speed between the large buildings. They were steadily getting closer to their destination when a communique came in. Scorpio’s voice could be heard as she warned them “Aries has taken notice of your presence. The plasma cannons around the planetary exhaust vents have just been armed. There are also regiments of droids now on high alert within. Be prepared for heavy fire.”

“Chicken isn’t afraid!” Tuffnut suddenly declared as the bogwing poked its head out from the bag it was in.

“Chicken?!” Heather asked as she looked curiously at Tuffnut’s pet before looking at Tuffnut himself. “What was it doing the entire time?”

“Sleeping” Tuffnut told her. “My darling needs her beauty sleep.” The ship suddenly lurched to the right as Astrid dodged a red plasma beam.

“Here we go guys!” Astrid told them as the plasma cannons came into view. She pushed the trigger button for the iona cannon. Purple energy sizzled along the ship before hitting one of the ground cannons, disabling it. “Our shields are holding!” Astrid declared. She was about to dodge an oncoming blast when Hiccup stopped her. “Let it hit he told her.”

“Hiccup what!” Astrid asked but she was too late to dodge the blast now. The plasma blast hit their deflector shield and Astrid’s eyes widened as she saw the ion cannon rapidly charge. “Shield strength back at maximum.” Ruffnut announced as well.  
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Astrid exclaimed as she unleashed another ion blast, hitting another cannon, before looping around and letting the process repeat.

“Oh crap” Heather mumbled as she watched the cannons get obliterated by Astrid. “Astrid is trigger happy.” Snotlout shuddered and she heard him mumble something about rather facing a Sarlacc with a butterknife than a trigger happy Astrid.

Astrid pulled the cruiser up and then into a nosedive once the plasma cannons had been dealt with. She wasted no time in navigating through the gigantic exhaust vent. There was indeed an overwhelming number of droids awaiting them. Their blasters trained on the oncoming ship. The sleek ship did not have that much room for maneuverability, which normally would have been their downfall. The droids opened fire just as Astrid shot off another ion blast. The blaster fire bounced off the shields while the ion blast struck true and rendered the Gemini droids inoperable.

“I am loving these new shields!” Astrid exclaimed happily as the ship’s ion cannon was almost done re-charging. “Remind me to show you just how much later.” She told Hiccup with a wink. Hiccup sputtered and then his cheeks promptly turned red at her implication.

Heather snorted momentarily as she overheard that and then said “We’re coming up on the location of the Genesis device.”

“What did he do to my beautiful ship!” Windshear mentally exclaimed upon seeing it. Gone was the sleek white egg-shaped hull. Instead the entire ship looked to have been taken apart. Dark metal tubes were now connected to the machinery inside the ship.

“He must be using those to siphon off all the power from the city.” Throk mumbled.

“Yeah, but where is he siphoning it into?” Fishlegs asked.

“There is only one way to find out.” Hiccup stated as he got up as Throk took over as co-pilot. “Astrid can you keep the droids distracted?”

“Can do Hiccup.” Astrid winked.

“Eret, Snotlout, I need you two to carry the twins over to that ship while we follow.” Hiccup told them as the two Mandalorians were already donning their jetpacks.

“How are you guys going to get over to that ship anyways?” Snotlout asked confused. Eret shooed Ruffnut, who was blowing him kisses, to Snotlout while he gave Tuffnut a lift.

“We’ll fly of course.” Heather responded. She stood by the controls for the ramp at the back. “Everyone ready?” Eret and Snotlout nodded as they had a firm hold over the twins who held their blasters out.

“I’m getting you guys as close as I can.” Astrid told them over their coms as Heather opened the ship’s back ramp. Violent gusts of wind assaulted them. They could see the Celestial ship below them as Astrid kept their cruiser steady.

“These winds are too violent!” Eret spoke up as he covered his eyes. “Our jetpacks won’t be able to handle these conditions.”

“Don’t worry!” Heather shouted over the loud whooshing of the wind. She steadily made her way to the middle of the ramp. Fishlegs and Hiccup could feel the Force leaping around her like a silk curtain. They wisely took a step back, Eret and Snotlout copied them and watched in amazement as Heather outstretched her hand and subsequently the Force, making a tunnel for them. It almost seemed like she cut the wind itself.

“How, who, what???!” Eret sputtered. Heather merely gave them a smirk.

“Let’s go.” Heather stated as she leapt from the ramp and floated down to the Celestial ship without incident.

 

**AN: Hello everyone. How are you liking it so far? It looks like this trilogy will be ending in the next chapter. (TT_TT) I will miss writing it too.**

**Oh, but wait, something new is coming!  A spin-off series called _HTTYD-Star wars: Eclipse_. It will detail the adventures that Hiccup's clone will face after chapter 8 of this story. I hope you will join me in the weird, wacky, and action-filled adventures I have planned for this character.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

The others floated down after Heather. Snotlout, Eret and the twins, followed by Hiccup and Fishlegs. The tunnel that Heather had made disappeared once they had firmly touched down on what was left of the original hull. Astrid had meanwhile closed the back ramp and was now zooming around the area shooting Gemini droids to her heart’s content.

“My beautiful ship!” Windshear lamented upon seeing it up close as the violent gusts of wind returned. Panels had been stripped, wiring taken out only to be replaced with heavy metal tubes. The once pristine ship that Hiccup, Fishlegs and Heather had seen on Ilum was no more.

“When I get my hand on that bucket of bolts! He’ll be wishing he was a therapy droid sent to fight a Zillo beast with only a blaster rifle!” Windshear growled as Meatlug tried to placate her. Toothless meanwhile let out a slight shudder.

“Everything alright?” Hiccup mentally asked.

“The last time I saw Windshear that mad was when a pompous lieutenant tried to tell her how to do her job, and instead set her back months because he accidentally erased some of her research data.” Toothless explained as they could still hear the very graphic details that Windshear was spewing. “It took the Council three weeks to find out what she had done with him. Let’s just say he was never the same again.”

Hiccup raised a brow and mentally told Toothless that the less he knew the better. Hiccup remembered the ship’s schematics from the time he was working on it and directed them to an emergency escape hatch that was still intact. Heather and Hiccup shimmied through the hatch without a problem, but Fishlegs got stuck in it. The twins and the two Mandalorians who were still outside tried to shove while Hiccup and Heather pulled. They had managed to finally get Fishlegs through the hatch and he landed on the floor with an ‘oof’. The others quickly followed afterwards.

“Where are we?” Eret asked.

“Deck two.” Hiccup answered as he glanced around. “These are supposed to be where the crew quarters were situated. The most logical place for Aries to be would be on the bridge which is on Deck one.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Snotlout announced. “I say we go kick some droid behind.” Hiccup chuckled and took the lead with Heather and Fishlegs flanking him as they made their way through the dimly lit corridor. The lights were low and flickering eerily. “Does anyone else feel that creepy Horror holomovie vibe?” Snotlout asked as he walked close to Eret.

“It must be the power siphon.” Hiccup remarked. “All the energy is flowing through the ship’s hull.”

“That would explain why we weren’t vaporized.” Fishlegs commented.

“Eh…… excuse me…. VAPORIZED!” Snotlout shouted briefly before Eret clammed a hand over his mouth.

“This ship was designed to be a passenger ship that could traverse from one side of the galaxy to the other within a few hours instead of days or weeks. It may not have been a military vessel but it was still armed to the teeth with advanced weaponry.” Heather conveyed what Windshear had told her. “According to Windshear, the energy siphon has to be messing with the weapons array on board.”

“Heather…..” Ruffnut spoke but Heather replied “No you and your brother may not go play with the weapons array.” The twins began to pout but Heather resisted. Suddenly they stilled as they heard clanking footsteps drawing nearer. Shadows of droids loomed across the wall at the corner and Eret let out a manly squeak, which he would deny later, as a patrol of Gemini droids rounded the corner. They immediately aimed their blasters at the group upon noticing them. It was only Fishlegs’ quick thinking that saved them. He had erected a force shield around the twins, Snotlout and Eret while Heather and Hiccup ignited their lightsabers and deflected the shots back at the droids.

“So much for an easy time.” Heather muttered as she saw that the droids had personal shields.

“We can use one of these.” Hiccup told her as he took out one of Scorpio’s EMP grenades and armed it.

“You sure? We only have three.”

“The faster we get to the bridge the better.” Hiccup stated before throwing the cube while deflecting the blaster shots with ease. It landed in the middle of the group of droids. Nothing happened, and the droids looked at it briefly thinking it was a dud, until it gave a shrill whine and burst into tiny bits of blue fire.

“Holy Sith in a handbasket!” Snotlout exclaimed as he watched the droids all sputter and release sparks before collapsing on the floor. “That small thing packs a wallop.”

“It was glorious!” The twins exclaimed in awe as they were suddenly yanked along. The group now easily made it over the fallen droids and towards their destination, the lift at the end of the corridor. The lift took them up once Fishlegs pressed the button for Deck one.

“Astrid, how’s everything going?” Hiccup asked over the commlink.

“Everything’s fine babe. Just the usual. Blasting stuff, Throk nearly having a heart attack.” Hiccup hummed an affirmative as at Astrid’s explanation as the lift doors opened, not even remotely surprised by the heart attack part. “Well have fun!”

“Will do.” Was Astrid’s reply before ending the call. Hiccup stepped out of the lift and the group stilled as they heard the clanking footsteps of the patrolling droids come nearer. They were at an intersection of corridors. The footsteps were coming from the left of them.

“Which way now?” Eret asked as they had their blasters ready this time. Snotlout looked wildly at the approaching shadows as he held his gun steady.

“The bridge is that way.” Hiccup pointed forward. They moved swiftly but not quickly enough. The droid in the lead had noticed them as it rounded the corner and gave the order to open fire.

“Not again!” Tuffnut groaned as blaster fire seared the walls and narrowly missed his hair.

“Hiccup fry that panel!” Heather shouted while pointing to a panel on the far end of the wall. Hiccup sent a blast of Force lightning at the panel without question. Sparks flew and heavy blast doors came down between them and the advancing droids.

“Heather, what was that?” Ruffnut asked as they could hear the droids cursing and firing against the door separating them.

“Blast doors to contain decompression.” Heather explained. “This one should separate the bridge from the rest of the ship. We’ll need to hurry before they manage to get it open.”

The bridge wasn’t far off and the gang burst in with weapons blazing after Hiccup sliced through the locked doors with his lightsaber. There behind a console stood a silver plated droid with its back turned towards the group, seemingly ignoring them.

Snotlout unleashed a warcry as well as one of the EMP grenades, which hit the droid and exploded in a spectacular show of blue sparks. Snotlout then proceeded to fire his blaster multiple times at the droid and only Hiccup yanking it out of his hands with the Force stopped him.

“Snotlout stop! Something isn’t right.” Hiccup mumbled as he inspected the scene. The droid and the consoles behind it were in complete shambles from the blaster fire.

“What do you mean! I had him!” Snotlout waved his arms wildly about.

“What you had is an empty shell.” Fishlegs stated as he walked over to inspect the smoking pile of metal. “It’s just an empty droid body.”

“But that can’t be!” Snotlout reasoned. “That thing looks just like the holo Scorpio showed us of Aries. She said he had a one of a kind body.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that this was Aries’ body. It just isn’t anymore.” Fishlegs stated.

“Then what was it doing here?” Eret now asked as he too looked at the husk.

“Being a distraction.” Hiccup muttered as his eyes narrowed. “One that we fell for all to easily.”

“What?” Eret asked.

Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. “Scorpio mentioned that Aries used to conduct experiments on humanoid behavior in his early development. She thought it had just been curiosity but we should have taken into account that he could have predicted how we would act and had countermeasures in place. He got us right where he wants us now, stuck on the bridge, trapped behind blast doors with an army ready to turn us into strainers on the other side.”

“Let’s not forget he could probably turn off the life support for this area whenever he wants to.” Fishlegs mumbled. “The odds of him doing that are…..”

“Babe, never tell me the odds.” Heather mumbled as she thought. “He needs the controls on the bridge to make the ship compatible with the Genesis device which would need constant monitoring. It’s inconceivable that he isn’t here.”

“Well….. What about a secondary bridge?” Ruffnut suddenly asked. “All the Star Destroyers have one.”

“According to Windshear, there is a secondary bridge on Deck three near the engine room but it was never connected to the ship. Several components hadn’t been installed yet.” Heather explained.

“It’s been ages. Who knows if Dagur, Camicazi or even Drago managed to get it operational. Aries certainly wouldn’t have a problem with getting it to work.” Hiccup surmised. “Heather, Windshear said Deck three right.”

Heather nodded as she noticed the determined look on Hiccup’s face. “What are you planning Hiccup?”

“Aries thinks he has us trapped…….”

“He actually does.” Snotlout interrupted.

“No he doesn’t.” Hiccup stated. “He only thinks he does. He doesn’t expect us to do something crazy and illogical.”

“Oh boy. Hiccup has that gleam in his eyes.” Fishlegs whispered to Eret who let out a gulp.

“Hiccup we can’t go through that thick blast door again because there’d be an army waiting for us. And as illogical as that is I don’t think that’s very good for my health and beautiful face.” Snotlout reasoned.

“Oh no Snotlout.” Hiccup grinned as he ignited his lightsaber. “We aren’t going through. We’re going down.”

“Say what now?!” Eret asked as Heather and Fishlegs got the idea and ignited their own lightsabers.

Meanwhile down on Deck three there was no sign of a problem. The steady hum of machinery was the only sound breaking the quiet that the room held. That was until three lightsabers broke through the ceiling and quickly cut a large circle in it. The ceiling fell down to the engine room with a loud thundering sound, crushing a nearby console and spreading debris all over the room. It was however not the only hole in the ceiling. Above that was another one that now connected all three decks.

Fishlegs jumped down and had his shield ready in case of hostiles as the others descended. “I don’t see Aries anywhere.” He noted as he looked around. He then spotted something near the ship’s power source. “Hiccup, that looks fairly out of place.” He mentioned as he pointed towards a large piece of jet black equipment with golden circuitry interwoven. A steady hum could be heard coming from it. The device looked out of place for the mere fact that the Celestials favored beige or grey equipment that had an aesthetically pleasing look to it as opposed to the large black device in the room with its sharp corners and ominous look.

“There is still no sign of that damn droid.” Tuffnut muttered as he looked around warily.

“Can we just destroy this thing?” Ruffnut suggested.

“We first need to disconnect it from the ship’s power source.’ Fishlegs stated and pointed to the large red crystal that floated above them.

“By the Force. What have they done to it?!” Heather gasped upon seeing the once white crystal turned blood red. She turned to Hiccup “You managed to revert Astrid’s red crystal back to normal. Is it possible to save this one?”

Hiccup frowned and reached out with the Force. The moment his mind made contact with the crystal’s consciousness he was however flung back by an immense pressure. “AAH” Hiccup shouted as he landed against the far wall of the room, his head hitting the wall with a loud thud. The others rushed to him with worried looks as he picked himself up and stumbled slightly. Ruffnut and Eret caught Hiccup as a sudden wave of vertigo assaulted him.

“Hiccup how many fingers am I holding up?” Fishlegs asked as he fussed over his friend over like a mother hen. Once it looked like Hiccup was going to be alright he asked “What happened?”

“It’s gone.” Hiccup told them while nodding towards the large red crystal. “Its consciousness is all gone. I only felt extreme cold and a loud wail before being flung back.”

As Hiccup stood an ominous and oppressive aura began to fill the room and a malicious chuckle could be heard. “Foolish organics.” It rumbled in the normally quiet room. “I will give you credit for reaching me.” The cold voice stated as the crystal started to glow, bathing the room in a deep blood red. “But that is as for as you will go. The end of all organics has come.”

“Is that voice coming from the crystal?” Snotlout asked as the group looked up.

“Aries must have somehow found a way to transfer his consciousness into the kyber crystal.” Hiccup mussed. The calm however didn’t last long as Aries used the powers that the crystal possessed to shove all of them to their need.

“What’s worse than a murderous droid?” Tuffnut grunted.

“A murderous droid with access to the Force.” Ruffnut responded as she grit her teeth at the weight that was being pressed onto them.

“Good point.” Tuffnut sighed.

“You two don’t have to be smartasses right now.” Eret grumbled in annoyance.

“Swear your allegiance to me and I might let you live.” Aries offered in a sinister voice.

“You have nothing to offer us.” Heather responded as she glared at the floating crystal.

“I can promise you power! Unlimited power!” Aries stated with as much flare as a giant floating red crystal could.

“Power that’s it!” Hiccup whispered as he realized something. “Fishlegs when I tell you to, throw the you-know-what.”

“Hiccup” Fishlegs hissed as Hiccup stood up with a grunt. He was still slightly hunched over from the Force that Aries was exerting over them but he walked steadily closer to the crystal.

“Power you say?” Hiccup asked as he managed to look up. The others held their breaths upon seeing Hiccup so casually walk up towards their foe. Aries believing that he might have swayed one of the humans eased up on the Force pressure surrounding Hiccup. Heather and the others watched nervously at whatever hairbrained scheme Hiccup had cooked up this time.

“We have power as well.” Hiccup stated. “In fact why don’t Toothless and I show you just how much power.” With that said Hiccup let loose an immense stream of Force lightning right at the red crystal.

“Aries however simply let out a laugh. “Foolish organic. Your power will only help me to charge the Genesis device up faster.”

“Fishlegs now!!” Hiccup shouted as he kept on pushing the Force lightning into the crystal. A single small cube, the last EMP grenade, was thrown towards the consoles and as it came to a stop it exploded covering the consoles in blue static while rendering them inoperable.

“Tell me something Aries. What happens when you can’t cycle all that incoming energy to the device anymore?” as he watched the consoles controlling the energy transfer shut down with a smirk.

“NOOOOO!” Aries shouted and tried to reach out with the Force to push Hiccup back. His momentary lapse of emotion was all it took for Heather and Fishlegs to free themselves and attack with their own bursts of Force lightning. The others were momentarily blinded by the immense light that had filled the room when a sickening crack was heard.

“No no no no no!” Aries shouted as he let his anger out as the crystal started to crack.

“Astrid we’ll need a pick up soon.” Eret spoke over his commlink as he watched the cracks getting bigger in the red crystal. Energy now in the form of plasma started seeping out of the cracks and lashing about violently through the room.

“I think it’s time to go now!” Fishlegs suggested as they had to duck as a burst of energy seared past them.

“Right” Hiccup said as they stopped the Force lightning and retreated. “Astrid….” Hiccup opened his comm.

“Already waiting for you babe!” Astrid chirped happily. “You can thank Eret.”

“Come back here you insolent org-AAAHHH!!” Aries shouted as a large crack suddenly split off a quarter of his crystalline body.

“We’ve set off a chain reaction. This whole place is going to blow soon.” He told the group as they hurried to the nearest exit that they could find.

“Hurry up Snotlout!” Eret shouted.

“I’m running, I’m running!” Snotlout huffed. “I can’t help it if my legs are short!”

They made it to a hatch just in time as a plasma stream ripped through the side of the ship. “What was that!” Astrid could be heard shouting over the commlink as she kept the ship steady so that they could fly over.

“Victory that’s what!” Ruffnut shouted as she and Eret were the last ones in. She closed the ramp and then yelled “Go go go!!!”

Astrid didn’t need to be told twice. The silver cruiser shot forth through the planetary exhaust vent just as the Celestial ship exploded. The explosion rocked the ship and they were about to be engulfed by it if Astrid hadn’t activated the hyperdrive that instant.

“Hold on!” Was all Astrid said as the ride turned incredibly bumpy. They dropped out of hyperdrive after a few seconds and found that they were almost near the edge of the solar system that housed Iokath.

“Astrid…..” Hiccup said as he took a seat in the co-pilot’s chair. “You are one crazy woman. Jumping into hyperspace while still in the atmosphere.”

“Well I do have one crazy boyfriend.” She replied before capturing Hiccup’s lips in a passionate kiss.

“Hey, I just got a message from Scorpio. She extends her thanks for our help and congratulates us on our success.” Ruffnut said as she came into the cockpit. She hadn’t looked up as she was reading the missive from the datapad until that moment. Ruffnut flushed slightly when she noticed that Hiccup and Astrid hadn’t heard a word she said and instead were engaged in a makeout session. “I’ll just…… show myself out.”

“Do you have a feeling we forgot something?” Eret asked Tuffnut while a blushing Ruffnut quickly walked past.

“I know what you mean. I just can’t put my finger on it.” Tuffnut frowned.

Meanwhile back on Iokath, in a trash heap somewhere on the planet. “Dagur get your foot out of my face!”

“Oh will you shut up!” Dagur growled. “There is a spring digging into my rear and my nose itches!”

**\--------------------THE END-----------------**

**AN: Hello all my wonderful readers. Thank you all for staying until the end of this tale. This trilogy might be over but there is one more story coming in the future. A spin-off called 'HTTYD-Star wars: Eclipse' which will feature what has happened to Hiccup's clone during and after the events of this story. Bringing back old and new foes. More adventures await in the Unknown Regions so I hope that you will all join me. XD**


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